Pokemon Aura Adventure: CANCELLED
by Animaster21
Summary: This is a story about a boy named Jaden who is warped to the world of Pokemon, after buying Pokemon Platinum. He appears in a new region named Bronko. There he gets his pokemon and pokedex, along with a change of attire, and he begins his journey!
1. New Game

Pokemon

Aura Adventure

**This is about a teenager named Jaden who gets warped into the world of pokemon.**

**This is my first fanfic and I hope you enjoy it.**

**I do not own anything about pokemon in any way, except for certain characters and places in the story. Everything else belongs to Satoshi Tajiri (creator of Pokemon) and his company.**

**New Game**

"Can we go and get Platinum now, Mum?" whined Jaden as he finished breakfast. He had wanted to buy it all weekend. Even though the game had come out the Sunday before, by the time Jaden and his Mother had gotten to the store, all the copies in every game store they had been to had been sold out. As the woman at EB Games had told him: "It was a very highly anticipated game, and a lot of people had been waiting for it to come out."

So Jaden had to wait until the next weekend. Unfortunately for Jaden, Saturday was no good because of some dumbass wedding. He didn't even know the people getting married. They were his Aunt's and Uncle's friends and although Jaden had appreciated being invited, he still thought it was a waste of time.

"No, we can't get it yet," said his Mum.

"Why not?! I've waited a very long time for this you know,"

"I'm well aware of that. You've been going on about this 'platinum' game for a while now," teased his Mum. "But we can't get it until we've cleaned the house. You know that the Real Estate Breakup Party is being held here this year, don't you?"

"Of course I know. You've been going on about this 'party' for a while now," mimicked Jaden. "But the party isn't till this afternoon. That's plenty of time to clean the house later.

"If there's time to buy your game first and do the housework later, then why can't we switch them around and clean the house first. Because even if you get your game, you'll still have to get off it to do the housework after about ten minutes. I'll tell you what. If you do the cleaning first, and you try really hard and make it as clean as possible, I'll pay for half of the game. Deal?"

"Seriously?" asked Jaden, his eyes wide. If his Mother payed for half, then he might have enough money for another game as well.

"Yes, I'm serious."

"Awesome! Thanks Mum!" He bounded up and gave her a giant hug.

She laughed. "Don't get too excited. You still have to do a good job with the cleaning first."

"I'll start straight away." And with that he jumped up and ran off to get the vacuum. His Mum smiled. It's amazing what a boy will do to get half-price on a game he's been waiting months for.

As Jaden worked, he imagined what pokemon he would train. In the end he decided to wait and see what was available to catch first. But, one thing for sure, he knew that as soon as possible he would get a Riolu. He simply loved them, and loved their evolution, Lucario, even more. In Pokemon Diamond, he had a level 100 Lucario. It hardly ever lost, and was Jaden's pride and joy. He knew that, above all else, his Lucario would always be the strongest.

Finally the housework was finished, and Jaden had pestered his Mum all the way to the store, asking her to drive faster. At last, he got to the store and bought the game. His Mother, as promised payed for half. Itching to go, Jaden had rushed past all the other shops to the car, and had read the instruction book all the way home. In his excitement, he had left his DS at home and, thus couldn't play till he got home.

Hardly able to contain his excitement, he walked into his room and inserted the small chip into his Nintendo DS. As he turned on the power, the DS started glowing and shaking roughly.

"That's funny," he said to himself. "I never knew the DS could shake. Maybe it's like the vibrate on a PS2 controller. Well, whatever it is, I'm excited. Lucario, here I come!" Suddenly the shaking ceased. "I wonder what that was?" thought Jaden. "Maybe it was just a new feature."

A ray of light burst from the bottom screen and enveloped him, accompanied by a piercing noise. Screwing his eyes shut, Jaden realised that this wasn't part of the game. Something was going on here. With a final flash of light, everything went black and Jaden's last thought was: "What the hell is going on!?"

**Thank-you so much for reading my first fanfic.**

**What will happen to Jaden? Who knows? Well, I do, (duh) but you get the point. And you can find out too. All you have to do is keep reading. And don't forget to review, as I am interested in hearing everyone's opinions, good or bad. Maybe some criticisms will help me improve the story. By the way, this is a rather short chapter, as it is the first, but I hope that all the future chapters will be longer.**

**Thx Again**


	2. Warped to the World of Pokemon?

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**Last time, Jaden rushed out to buy his Pokemon Platinum game. However, when he got home, instead of playing the game, the DS malfunctioned, surrounding Jaden in light. Of course, to find out what happened, you'll have to keep reading the story.**

**Pokemon does not, in any way, belong to me. The entire franchise belongs to Satoshi Tajiri (creator of pokemon) and his company. The only things belonging to me are some characters and some places.**

**Warped to the World of Pokemon?**

Jaden felt odd. The last thing he remembered was sitting on his bed with his DS and his new Pokemon Platinum game. He remembered it acting strangely, shaking and shooting a light out at him. But what had happened next? Jaden struggled to remember, but not a single memory of what happened after the light sprang to mind.

Groggily, he sat up. As he opened his, he saw, with a shock, that he was sitting in a forest. The trees around him were giving off a nice aroma. He recognised the smell as tree sap. He glanced down at himself to check that he looked ok and did a double take.

The clothes he had been wearing when he was in his room had vanished. Instead he was wearing a completely different outfit. His shirt was red with white and black sleeves, which went down to his elbows. His pants were blue and had two large pockets. A belt was wrapped around his waist. This struck him as odd, as he only ever wore a belt as part of his school uniform. On the belt were six little slots. His shoes were made of white leather and had roughly done up laces. He felt around his head and found a cap. On the ground next to him was a brown backpack. It had a small pocket on the front and a big zipper on the top which opened up to the large space in the pack.

Inside the bag were six small red and white balls, each about the size of a macadamia nut. Jaden picked one out of the bag and inspected it. It looked exactly like a pokeball. Remembering how the ones on the show could get bigger, he pressed the button on the front. Immediately it enlarged to the size of a baseball. In wonder, he pressed the button and it shrunk again. He pressed it to one of the slots on his belt. It stuck there, like it had been magnetized on. Jaden pulled the rest of the balls out and put them in his belt as well.

Continuing to inspect the bag, he opened the front pocket. Inside was a small red item. Curious, he pulled it out. The top flipped open, much like a DS. With a thrill, he realised it was a pokedex. A real live pokedex! Jaden shut his eyes and tried to contemplate what was happening to him. Somehow he had been teleported to a forest, along with a backpack, a change of clothes, six pokeballs and a pokedex. Pinching himself to make sure it wasn't just a dream, Jaden stood up. So far, he hadn't seen any pokemon, and the only sounds had been his own breathing and moving. He wondered where to find some pokemon, or whether he was even in the world of pokemon. Having a brain-wave, pulled out his pokedex and turned it on.

"Greetings, Jaden, and welcome to the world of Pokemon," an electronic voice stated. Jaden gave a start, realising that it was the pokedex that had spoken.

"How does it know my name?" he whispered to himself.

"I'm not some outdated piece of junk, you know!" said the voice. "I was created for you, and I'm just as smart as well."

"You can understand me!?" cried Jaden, almost dropping the pokedex in shock.

"Of course I can understand you! Can't computers understand speech where you come from?"

"Of course not!" remarked Jaden. "There just programmed data, designed to keep people entertained, but they have no mind of their own."

"Well, I do!" snapped the voice. "Anyway," it said in a lighter tone, "Is there anything you need to know about this world?"

"Well, kind of, yes," said Jaden. "My main question is this. How the hell did I get here, and how do I get back?"

"Simple. You were transported to this world by your extreme desire to be in the pokemon world, and because of your pure love for pokemon. And as for how to get back, we'll get to that later. But first, two things. First of all, I need a name."

"You mean you don't have a name?" asked Jaden, a little surprised.

"No. I was only made a few days ago. But that's where the fun comes in. You get to name me! Just please don't make it a dumb name." A slightly worried tone came into the pokedex's voice when he said the last sentence.

"No worries, I won't name you anything dumb," replied Jaden. After a few second's thought, he had an idea. "How about Chip? As in a computer chip."

"Hmm. Chip. I like it. It suits me, don't you think?"

"Of course I think it suits you, that's why I chose it," laughed Jaden. Then he remembered what Chip had said earlier. "What's the second thing?"

"Oh, of course! I almost forgot, because of the new name. I'm sure you'll understand. Anyway, the second point is your partner pokemon."

"A partner pokemon?!" repeated Jaden. "Awesome! What'll it be? One of the starter pokemon from the Platinum game?"

"I don't know what this 'Platinum Game' is, but if you mean Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Treecko, Mudkip, Torchic and the like, then no," said Chip bluntly.

"Oh," said Jaden, surprised. He recovered about a second later, realising that all he really wanted was any pokemon. "What is it to be then?"

"We've already decided for you. When we bought you here, you mentioned something about a Lucario. Based on that, we chose a starter for you."

Jaden's face lit up. "You mean...it's a..."

"Riolu? No," broke in Chip.

Jaden's face fell. "Oh."

"Nah, just kidding kid, it is a Riolu," smirked Chip. "Look in the hollow of that tree over there."

Jaden smiled. "You're lucky I don't kill you," he joked as he walked over the trunk. "Playing a trick on me like that." He looked in the hollow and saw a big egg with blue circles all over it. "Woah, how big is this egg. It looks like an ostrich laid it."

"A what?"

"Never mind."

Jaden reached over and picked up the egg. It was cool beneath his fingertips as he ran his hands over it. About 30 seconds after he picked it up, it started rocking gently. Jaden quickly placed it on the ground. The egg shined like a lantern and almost blinded Jaden. Soon the light subsided. Where the egg was, now stood a small blue-and-black humanoid creature. Jaden caught his breath. It looked just like a Riolu.

"_Hello_," a small voice said in his head.

**And there you have it! The end of chapter two.**

**I hope you enjoy it, because I sure enjoyed writing it.**

**Don't forget to review.**

**Next time: Jaden meets his starter, Riolu. Soon after, A meowth appears and attacks him. Can Jaden and his new Riolu win the battle, or will they lose before they even truly begin?**


	3. Learning the Ropes

Pokemon

Aura Adventure

**Last time, Jaden found himself in the Pokemon World after buying Pokemon Platinum. He woke up in a forest, with new clothes and a backpack filled with six pokeballs and a pokedex. After being "introduced" to his pokedex, he named it Chip. Chip then gave Jaden an egg, which hatched into Riolu. Jaden heard a voice in his head. "**_**Hello."**_

**Learning The Ropes**

"What!" Jaden cried out loud.

"Huh?" said Chip at the same moment.

"_I said, hello,"_ said the voice.

"Who are you?!" Jaden demanded. "And how did you talk inside my head?"

"_Simple. I just projected my thoughts out to you. And as for whom I am, I thought that was obvious."_

Jaden stared at the Riolu. It stared back, a slight smile on its face. "Is it you, Riolu?"

"_Of course," _said Riolu._ "Is it unusual for you to hear me?"_

"Unusual, yes, but of course, it's not impossible," stated Chip. "You're using telepathy. It's a trait most common in psychic and ghost type pokemon. Of course, Riolus and Lucarios are sort of psychic, even though it's not one of their types."

"You can hear him too?" exclaimed Jaden.

"Of course. I'm just as smart as you, remember?"

Riolu looked at Chip. "_Who are you?"_

"I'm a state-of-the-art Pokedex," Chip answered systematically. "I have the most recent data on pokemon logged in my memory banks."

"_Interesting. And you, of course, must be Jaden,"_ said Riolu.

"Yes, how do you know?" replied Jaden, surprised that Riolu seemed remarkably intelligent for someone who was just born.

"_I don't know. I just...knew," _said Riolu.

"Of course you knew. You two are linked, in a way. Riolu are often like that with their partners. They sort of share minds. You two can communicate with each other without speaking."

"Cool," said Jaden. "So we're partners now, hey? Is there anything you want to be called? Like a nickname, to separate you from other Riolu?"

"_That would be nice. I feel unique, so I need a unique name that suits my personality."_

"Hmm. We'll all have to think on that," said Chip.

The bushes near them rustled.

"What was that?!" Jaden was worried.

"_I can detect something behind those bushes. It is a small cat pokemon, a bit bigger than me. It is white, with brown paws and whiskers. I think it's called...Meowth?"_

Jaden was stunned. "How can you tell that?"

Chip answered before Riolu could say anything. "He used aura."

Jaden was mystified. "Aura? As in the energy aura?"

"Yes," replied Chip. "Riolus can use aura to detect things around them, even if they have their eyes closed. It's very useful in combat, as they can detect their opponent and what he's doing. It has its purposes out of battle as well. A riolu can detect people and settlements from a distance. An experienced aura user can detect things from up to 10 miles away."

The Meowth in the bushed leaped out at Jaden and swiped at his face, leaving three long claw marks across his cheek. Riolu rushed to Jaden's defence, striking the Meowth away with his paw.

"Meowth! Meow Meowth!" Meowth said.

"_I'll take care of it,"_ said Riolu.

"Are you sure you can defeat it?" asked Jaden, worried for Riolu's safety. "It might be stronger than it looks."

"_Do not worry."_

The Meowth pounced. Riolu deftly dodged, then used quick attack. The Meowth got knocked against a tree, but got back up. Angrily, it rushed at Riolu, trying over and over again to strike it. No matter how fast it moved though, Riolu was faster. In one final move, it swept the Meowth's feet from under it and used quick attack again. This time, the Meowth seemed to know better than to charge back into battle. With one final cry of "Meowth!" it ran back into the bushes and disappeared.

"Wow!" exclaimed Jaden. "How did you do that?! You moved so quickly, it didn't even get one hit in!

"_It was quite easy. At the start of the battle, I used the move Foresight, enabling me to see his moved before he used them."_

"Impressive," said Chip. "Well, Jaden. After watching that battle, have you thought of a nickname for Riolu?"

Jaden grinned. "Yes, actually." He turned to Riolu. "How does the name Sonyk sound to you?"

"_I like it. It's suitable for my abilities. Thank-you Jaden, for creating a name I can be proud of."_

"So," said Jaden. "Where do we go next? Where are we anyway? What region are we in?"

"We are in the region of Bronko. It was discovered about 10 years ago, and many people have made their homes here," stated Chip.

"Bronko? I've never heard of it."

"You haven't? Oh well," replied Chip. "Anyway, we're in Sunlight Forest. We need to head west of here, to Huckleberry town. It's where Professor Palm lives. His lab is where I was made. He is the only human that was born in this world that knows about your world. He was the one that transported you here.

"Awesome! Let's go there, then." Jaden then realised that he didn't know which way was west. "Uh, do you know which direction to go then?"

"Look in your pocket. There should be a compass."

And indeed there was. A small circular compass was sitting in Jaden's pocket. He looked at it and saw that west was to his right.

"Ok. It's that way."

"_Jaden? Do I have to go in my pokeball or can I stay out?"_

Whatever you want, Sonyk."

"_I think I'll stay out for now._

"Let's go," said Chip.

**Next time, Jaden arrives at Huckleberry Town, and meets Professor Palm. As he's leaving, he bumps into Palm's daughter, who challenges him to a battle. Can Jaden beat her Poochyena? Stay tuned to find out! And don't forget to review, damn it.**


	4. A Friendly Rival

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**Last time, Jaden met his Riolu and nicknamed it Sonyk. Soon after, A Meowth appeared and attacked. It was quickly fought off by Sonyk though, and Chip the pokedex advised Jaden to head to Huckleberry Town, to the West.**

**A Friendly Rival**

Sunlight drifted through the gaps in the trees. Starly and Pidgey were gibbering their names loudly. Jaden looked behind him and his footprints in the dirt. Shortly after he had left his starting point, he had discovered a dirt path. It fortunately led in the direction he was going, so he mercifully followed, relieved that he wasn't just blundering around in the forest. Sonyk riding on his shoulder, he had been walking for half an hour when the trees started to thin and he saw a small town in the distance.

"That must be Huckleberry Town," he said to Sonyk.

"_I assume so."_

You'd be right about that." Chip's voice issued out of Jaden's pocket, where he had been tucked away. "We're nearly there. Then you can meet my creator, Professor Palm."

_It seems that the tradition of having professors named after trees has continued, even in this world,_ Jaden thought to himself. _Oak, Elm, Birch, Rowan and now Palm._

After about 10 minutes of walking, they arrived in the town. Jaden recognised the lab at once. It was the biggest building in town. The town itself had about 50 buildings, mostly houses, with a few shops and a restaurant.

"_I like it here,"_ said Sonyk quietly. "_It's got a peaceful, quaint feel, doesn't it?"_

"Yeah."

"_We'd better get to the lab."_

"Rightio."

The duo walked to the lab and knocked on the door. No one answered. Tentatively, Jaden nudged open the door and peeked inside. A group of people were gathered around an egg at the far end of the room. They were all wearing lab coats. Suddenly the egg shone so brightly, everyone, including Jaden, shielded their eyes. The light eventually died down. In its place was an Beldum.

"Excellent!" cried a slightly crazy-looking man. He had strange, blonde hair that stuck out at odd angles. "We have finally managed to make a Beldum hatch!" He saw Jaden in the doorway, stopped talking, and stared at him. All of a sudden, he jumped. Looking around at the other scientists, he said, "Well don't just stand there, get to work!" The men, as if coming out of a trance, started bustling around, one of them grabbing the Beldum and taking it off to a desk. Meanwhile, the crazy-haired man, who Jaden took to be Professor Palm, walked over to Jaden and shook his hand.

"Welcome. I thought I knew you from somewhere. You're Jaden, correct?"

"How did you know?!" replied Jaden. It seemed as if everyone he met knew who he was.

Palm looked around, before lowering his voice. "Perhaps we'd better speak in my office. Follow me."

He turned and opened a door to his left. Following him, Jaden found himself in a long corridor, with doors on both sides at regular intervals. Palm hurried down to a door at the very end. On the door was written:

Professor Palm

Certified Scientist

Opening the door, Palm beckoned Jaden in. He sat down behind his desk and offered Jaden a seat.

"Now. I suppose you're wondering what you're doing here? Let me tell you. Long ago I became aware of a different world, a universe parallel to ours. It was, of course, yours. For many years, I have been working in secret, trying to gain entry to your universe. I quickly discovered that while I couldn't get to the universe myself, I could transport someone from your world to mine. About 10 years ago I succeeded, but the person I bought here was extremely angry that he was here, as he had no knowledge of pokemon, and didn't to be part of it. When he found out that I didn't know how to get him back, he rose to a fury, and damaged several pieces of valuable equipment. Then he left in a rage. Distraught, I was heartbroken that I had stranded someone in a place that they didn't want to be. So I committed myself to finding a means to get him back. I eventually succeeded, but by then I had no idea where the man was. I wanted to find him, but I couldn't leave my research, and I couldn't tell anyone about him, not without endangering your world. In the end I decided to find another person from your universe. I used some technology to find someone that knew of pokemon, and who loved it. I found you. So I decided to bring you here, in the hopes that you will help me find that man, and bring him back so I can send him home. Will you find him? Will you help me in my quest?"

"_What do you think, Sonyk?"_ Jaden asked of his partner.

"_I think we should help him. He seems full of remorse for what he has done. Also, it would be one hell of an adventure."_

Jaden smiled to himself, then looked up at Palm. "Me and Sonyk here have decided to help you."

Palm's face filled with gratitude. "Oh, thank-you! Thank-you so much! Now, let me help you to lunch, while you ask me any questions that you might have."

A short while later, Jaden left the lab. Palm had given him a map of Bronko, and advised him to try and visit every city, and ask around for any people that might know where the man was. When Jaden had asked for the man's name, Palm had claimed he had forgotten. As he was leaving, he heard a shout.

"Hey!"

Jaden looked around and saw a girl of around his own age walking towards him.

"What were you doing in there?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"Seeing Professor Palm," replied Jaden. "Do you know him?"

The girl snorted. "Know him! Ha! I'm his daughter! My name's Samantha, but you can just call me Sammy, everyone does."

"My name's Jaden."

"_And I'm Sonyk!"_

Sammy started, then looked at Sonyk. "Was it you that just spoke?"

"_Yep. Jaden's box said I'm using telepathy."_

"Jaden's box? You mean a pokedex?" said Sammy, raising her eyebrow.

"Yeah," interjected Jaden. He pulled the pokedex. "Meet Chip."

"Chip? Cool name. Mine's named Gigabyte."

"You have a pokedex?" asked Jaden, surprised.

"Of course. Most trainers have one. And since you have one, I assume you're a trainer. Want a battle?"

"A battle?" Jaden didn't know what to say. He wanted to battle, but didn't know how strong Sammy was. "I dunno, I just started out. How good are you?"

"I've got an idea. How about I use a pokemon I just caught," said Sammy. "I was just about to go and train it anyway. This way it'll be good experience for both of us."

"Oh, Ok then," Said Jaden, happy to have found a trainer already.

Sammy threw a pokeball high in the air. "I chose you, Fang!" The pokeball burst open and a bright light flew out aiming at the ground. It morphed into the form of a Poochyena. The black and grey dog bared its teeth at Jaden.

"You ready, Sonyk?

"_Of course."_

Sonyk jumped in the air and landed in front of Fang.

"Fang, use Bite!" commanded Sammy.

Sonyk tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. Fang's jaws closed around his leg, and held on, no matter how hard Sonyk shook. After a series of whacks on the head, Fang let go.

"Quick attack, Sonyk!"

Sonyk rushed to Fang and smashed into it. Fang recoiled away, growling. Jaden pulled Chip out of his pocket. Flipping him open and turning him on, he saw that Sonyk knew some pretty good moves.

"Sonyk, use Karate Chop!"

Sonyk ran over to Fang, his arm raised in the air, and bought his paw crashing down on Fang's head. Fang squealed and backed away.

Sammy smiled. "Fang, hit him hard with Rage!"

Fang rushed at Sonyk and started savagely attacking him, Sonyk couldn't react and start get pummelled. To Sammy's frustration, though, it refused to faint. Finally Fang, fell back, exhausted. Sonyk stood firm, despite the beating he had taken.

"Like Sonyk's Endure technique?" called Jaden, smiling.

"Endure! No way!"

"Yes way! Now, Sonyk, finish him off with Counter!"

Sammy gasped. Counter dealt back double the damage that the user had just taken. And without Endure to sustain Fang, he was a goner. Sonyk picked up Fang and flung him into the sky. Then he jumped up and struck Fang on his unprotected underside. Fang roared and crashed back to the ground, out cold. Sonyk landed on his feet a few seconds later.

"Yeah, we win!" yelled Jaden, running up to Sonyk and sweeping him into a big hug.

Sammy was shocked. "Your Riolu is amazing! I've never seen such strength in a beginner! You would be a good candidate to take on the Gym Leaders and the Pokemon League."

"You think?" asked Jaden happily.

"Yeah. Now, let's go and rest up at my house. I've got a healing machine and lot's of potions in my room."

**And there you have it! This was a very fun chapter to write, and I enjoyed it. Look out for Sammy in future chapters, she's a main character.**

**Next time, Jaden travels to the next town. On the way, he is attacked by a man in strange black clothes. He has very strong pokemon. Will Jaden be rescued, or will he be defeated by the mysterious thug? Keep reading to find out. And in the meantime, don't forget to review.**

**Cya!**


	5. The Enemy Appears

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**Hi I'm back!**

**Lupyne: Thanks for being my first reviewer. I think I'll capitalise the names of the species. Thanks for your advice!**

**Last time, our hero, Jaden, met Professor Palm and received his mission. After he left, he got challenged to a battle by Palm's daughter Sammy. After learning Sonyk's moves on Chip the pokedex, Jaden employed an endure/counter strategy, easily defeating Sammy's Poochyena. Oh yeah, if anyone was wondering why Palm had been trying to get a Beldum to hatch, it was because he had been striving to find out how a pokemon with no gender, like Beldum, Metang and Metagross, reproduce. He eventually paired one off with a ditto and, tada, he got his egg.**

**Now, on with the show!**

**A New Enemy!**

After leaving Sammy's house, Jaden followed the road South out of Huckleberry Town, thinking about what Palm had said. During the lunch that Palm had given him, he had answered many questions, such as how to get home. Palm had pressed his palm (no pun intended) against a pad on the wall. A door had opened, and Palm had shown Jaden down a staircase. At the bottom was what Jaden had taken for a mad scientist's experiment lab. There the weird pieces of machinery all over the place, and, in the middle of the room, was a giant ring of metal mounted on a slab of concrete. Palm rushed over to it, and pressed a button on the side. The space inside the ring filled with a purple substance, swirling around in midair, but not leaving the ring.

"That's your portal out of here," Palm had said.

Looking back on it now, Jaden wondered if he should have just dived into the portal, and rid himself of the responsibility of finding the man. Then, he shook the thought away, knowing that all his life he had wanted to come here, so why would he want to go back? Palm had assured him that time had been frozen in his world until he got back. And also, when he went back, he would go back to exactly how he was when he left, only he would keep the memories of what happened. Jaden was glad it was like that, as he could spend as much time as he liked here, without aging back home. Then, he recalled something that Palm had said that made him think.

"_If Palm wanted this man back so much, how did he forget the guy's name?" _he asked Sonyk, through their mind connection.

"_I don't know. Perhaps there's something that he's not telling us."_

"_Maybe. He did seem kind of hesitant when he said he forgot."_

Jaden looked at the map. It looked like he still had another five kilometres to go. As he looked up from the map, he stopped walking. In front of him, several pokemon were lying on the ground, with bruises and scratches all over them. Jaden cried out and rushed to the nearest one, a Weedle.

"Who did this to you?" he asked gently.

"That would be me!" a voice said. Jaden looked up from the Weedle and saw a man standing in front of him. He was clad all over in a sort of black armour. "My name is Gamma, and I'm an admin in Team Epsilon. That gives me more rights than other people, including the right to hurt pokemon."

"That's not a right! That's an atrocity!" yelled Jaden.

Gamma narrowed his eyes. Behind him an Aggron stomped out of the bushes and stood next to him. "Who are you to question me?!"

"I'm a pokemon trainer, who fights for peace and hope in pokemon!"

Gamma laughed. "Nice speech kid, but you're going down. Aggron! Rock Slide!"

"_Oh no! That attack is way too strong for me to block. Even with endure it won't work!" _screamed Sonyk's voice in his head.

"_There's no way for us to fight this Aggron...not without getting killed anyway," _answered Jaden

The Aggron smashed the ground, causing it to crack all over the place. Aggron scooped up all the rocks and flung them at Jaden. He closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

"Blaze, use Close Combat!" a voice cried out of nowhere. Jaden opened his eyes and saw a Blaziken hurl out of the trees. It jumped in front of Jaden and blocked the rocks flying at him, smashing them with its hands and feet. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jaden saw a boy slightly older than him walk out of the bushes, one hand in his pocket. The boy's eyes flashed with anger. "Now use Blaze Kick!" Blaze's foot started smoking, then suddenly burst into the flame. It jumped over to the Aggron and kicked it full in the face. The Aggron fainted instantly. Gamma cursed, and pulled a strange black pokeball out of his pocket. He called back Aggron, then turned around and walked away. The boy turned to Jaden.

"You're foolish. Provoking a Team Epsilon admin like that."

"I didn't provoke him!" protested Jaden.

"Yes you did! You said he was an atrocity. That's a very dumb thing to do to an Epsilon."

"What is Team Epsilon, anyway. And what's your name?"

"Team Epsilon is a criminal organization. They find strong pokemon and make them their slaves. As for my name, you can call me Erik."

"I'm Jaden, and this is Sonyk. So, is Epsilon just like Team Rocket?"

"Team Rocket? Get with the times! Team Rocket was disbanded 20 years ago."

"20 years! Wow."

"Where do you come from, if you don't know that?" asked Erik.

Jaden was startled. He had never thought of what to say if someone asked where he was from. In the end, he decided to just tell the truth. Sort of. "I'm from the Australia Region. It's a long way from here."

"Interesting. Anyway, I've gotta split. See ya!"

"Yeah, see ya," Jaden replied. He was curious about this new face. He seemed ok, but Jaden wondered if there was more to him then what appeared on the surface. He shrugged, then looked around. He almost hit himself when he remembered there were still injured pokemon all over the place. Pulling his potions out of his bag, he ran to them all, giving them all sips of the five potions he had. When they were all healed, he bid them farewell.

While walking along, he became aware of a pokemon following him. Looking around, he saw an Abra floating behind him.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked it. The Abra nodded. "Ok. Join the team then!" Jaden pulled a pokeball off his belt and threw it at the Abra. It was converted in red energy, which got sucked into the ball. Falling to the ground, the ball started wobbling. It eventually stopped, and Jaden knew he had caught it. He lifted his hand, and the pokeball containing Abra flew into his grasp. Smiling, Jaden turned and walked to the next town.

**There we go! I didn't really like this chapter, it didn't really turn out the way I wanted it too. Erik was originally intended to be a lot more hostile towards Jaden, considering him a much less competent trainer. Instead, he turned out more friendly than hostile.**

**Look out for Team Epsilon! They are the main bad guys in this, much like Team Rocket, as Jaden assumed. And no, Gamma isn't the man Jaden is looking for.**

**Next time, Jaden arrives in the next town and tries to take on the gym. Has he bitten off more than he can chew? Or will he win easily. You'll have to wait and see for the next update.**

**(By the way, I'm hoping to update at least once a day, but when the holidays finish, and school comes along it'll be a lot harder.)**

**P.S. Review.**


	6. Jaden's First Gym Battle

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**Last time, Jaden got attacked by a person named Gamma, an admin of a criminal organization named Team Epsilon, on the way to his destination. Luckily, he was saved, but by a strange boy named Erik. As Jaden was leaving an Abra expressed its desire to join him after he healed it and some other pokemon from the injuries inflicted on them by Gamma**

**Jaden's First Gym Battle**

Jaden hummed to himself as he walked down the path, grinning as he spotted Cleardawn Town. Breaking into a run, he advanced towards it, eager to rest his feet and heal his pokemon. Passing through the gate that marked the entrance to the Town, Jaden looked around in wonder. He instantly recognised the Pokemon Centre. It was the tallest building bar one, and it had a massive revolving pokeball on the roof. Heading towards it, he stopped off at the Pokemart, spending some of the money that Professor Palm had given him. With his backpack filled with potions and other healing items, as well as some pokeballs and a few greatballs as well, he arrived at the doors of the Pokemon Centre, marvelling at its size compared to the games. Eventually, he stopped gaping and entered the building.

"Welcome to the Cleardawn Town Pokemon Centre," called out a red-headed woman from behind the counter. Jaden realised that he was looking at one of the many members of the vast Joy family. "How are your pokemon feeling? Not too injured I hope."

Jaden smiled. "Nope, they're not in too-bad condition."

"Oh, that's good. Do you want to get a check-up anyway?"

"Yeah, I'd better. I only just caught one of them, so I don't know how injured it is. It had just been attacked, but I gave it some potions and healed it. How much does it cost to get a check-up?"

Joy laughed. "Oh, don't you worry about charge. All our services are free. We even offer free food and accommodation."

"Seriously? That's really nice of you," replied Jaden. He wondered how the Pokemon Centres ran their business without any apparent source of income.

"Just put your pokemon in their pokeballs on this trolley, and you can eat lunch while they get attended to. Don't worry; they'll get fed while they get examined."

Jaden put his new Abra, nicknamed Merlin, on the trolley, then held a pokeball up to Sonyk. Reluctantly, it grimaced and went inside. Jaden put Sonyk's pokeball on the trolley and sat down at a table. He watched as his pokemon were wheeled off to the examination room by a pair of Chanseys. He knew they were going to be ok, but couldn't help but feel a bit worried at being separated from his friends.

"_Don't worry, we're fine_." Sonyk's voice suddenly burst into Jaden's head.

Jaden laughed, getting an odd look from Nurse Joy as he did so – to her it appeared as if he was laughing for no reason at all – and then started eating. Shortly after he had finished, his pokemon were bought back to him, fully recovered.

"Is there a Gym in this town?" he asked Nurse Joy as he was leaving.

"Yes. Just look for the biggest building in town."

Jaden grinned and walked outside. The air outside seemed hot, as he was used to the air-conditioning inside the Pokemon Centre. He looked around, and seeing the Gym, headed towards it. It was a large building of course, being the largest in town. On the door was picture of an Umbreon. As he walked inside, he noticed how dark it was.

"Greetings."

A voice issued out of nowhere. The lights flicked on all of a sudden, dazzling Jaden's eyes. The room was huge, with the walls and floor painted black. Grandstands lined the walls, and an arena was in the middle of the room. Off to the side, there were a few doors. Jaden wondered what was behind them.

A girl stood in front of him. She was about 18, and all her clothes were black. Jaden got a chill as he remembered Gamma, who also wore all black clothes. The girl looked at him quizzically, her head slightly tilted to one side. She seemed to be eying him up, as if to judge how strong he was.

"My name is Shadess. I'm the leader of the Cleardawn Gym. I specialise in the Dark type. What is your name?"

"I'm Jaden."

"Pleased to meet you, Jaden. I suppose you want a battle? Unfortunately for you, I only battle people if they can beat my student first. Can you beat him, I wonder. For you will never face me if you can't."

"I'd like to try, if that's ok."

Shadess smiled. "Of course it's ok. That's my job, after all." She raised her voice. "Ryo, get in here! I've got an opponent for you!"

A boy of about 16 walked through one of the doors

"So you're my opponent, hey?" said Ryo. "I bet you can't beat me. My pokemon are awesomely strong.

"I'll be the judge," announced Shadess. "Now this will be like a normal Gym battle." She turned to Jaden. "You can each use two pokemon. Neither of you can switch out your pokemon. There is an exception to that though. If one person's pokemon faints, then the other person can switch as well. Deal?" Jaden nodded. "Ok, let the match begin!"

They stood at opposite ends of the arena. Jaden pulled out his first pokeball, then threw it high in the air. Out popped his new catch, Merlin the Abra. Ryo laughed. "Have you forgotten that Psychic pokemon can't affect Dark types?"

Jaden cursed, as Ryo released his pokemon, a Sneasel. The Sneasel rushed at Merlin, swiping its claws viciously. Merlin quickly teleported out of the way, appearing behind Sneasel. Then, before Jaden or Merlin could react, the Sneasel simply melted into thin air.

"What just happened?" cried Jaden looking around the massive room, looking for the small pokemon.

Ryo smirked. "Faint Attack, Sneasel."

The Sneasel materialised behind Merlin and grabbed its head, smashing it into the ground. The impact was too much for Merlin, who, as an Abra, had weak physical defence. It collapsed.

"Good job, Sneasel," praised Ryo.

Jaden rushed over to Merlin, and after discovering that it was alright, called it back to its pokeball. He clipped it back to his belt, then released Sonyk.

"_I'm ready. This is gonna be a fun battle!"_

"_Be careful though."_

"_You worry too much."_

Shadess turned to Ryo. "Do you want to switch pokemon?"

"Yes."

He called back Sneasel, before sending out a Houndour.

"See if you can beat this," he called across to Jaden.

"_Use Foresight."_

"_Just like I did in my first battle."_

"_Yeah."_

Sonyk concentrated, then rushed into battle. Houndour charged as well. It used Ember, but Sonyk leaped over it and struck Houndour. It growled and tried to bite Sonyk. It managed to latch its teeth onto Sonyk's arm, but let go after Sonyk flicked its nose. It used Ember again, and this time hit Sonyk full in the face. Sonyk staggered, but stood back up and knocked Houndour out with a Karate Chop.

"Yeah, you did it!"

"_Of course I did. Aren't I just fantastic?"_

Jaden laughed. Ryo snarled. _Stupid, weak Houndour. It should try harder._

He reached to his belt and sent Sneasel back out. It immediately used Icy Wind. Sonyk managed to dodge most of it, but a bit caught Sonyk's leg, instantly freezing it.

"Damn, that thing is strong!" cried Jaden.

"_We have to use the Endure and Counter Technique!" _Sonyk said.

"_Agreed. But first you have to get rid of that ice. Come here, and I'll give you an Ice Heal that I bought at the Pokemart."_

Sonyk hobbled over to Jaden, and drunk the medicine. The ice melted away, leaving a small puddle at its feet. It turned and ran back to the battle.

"_Use Endure now!"_

"_Okey-dokey!"_

It stopped and stood still for a moment, before waiting for the Sneasel to attack. It didn't have to wait long. Sneasel rushed at it like a lunatic, bashing and beating it repeatedly. Sonyk held on firmly though, refusing to give up. After a while the Sneasel backed off a bit, and Jaden took his chance.

"Use Counter!"

Sonyk glowed, then ran at Sneasel and smashed it with a bone-shattering kick. The Sneasel fell over, but, somehow, got right back up.

"How did it survive that?!" yelled Jaden, utterly shocked.

Ryo grinned. "The same way your Riolu did. With Endure."

Jaden's eyes widened until they were the size of golf balls. "You can't mean..."

Ryo gave a long, sadistic laugh that made Jaden's blood run cold. Was it just him, or did Ryo seem to enjoy beating up people's pokemon? "Yes. I do mean that. Sneasel, use Counter!"

The Sneasel glowed, just like Sonyk had done. With a look of glee on its face, it bolted towards Sonyk, and raised its paw. Sonyk had no time to react, and was knocked out. The Counter was double as strong as Sonyk's attack, and that was already pretty powerful.

Jaden fell to his knees. It was his first loss. He couldn't believe that Ryo had used his own strategy against him.

Ryo laughed cruelly. "Better luck next time," he sneered.

Jaden finally got over his initial shock and ran over to Sonyk. It was injured badly. Scooping it up in his arms, Jaden dashed out of the Gym, focused on getting Sonyk and Merlin to the Pokemon Centre as soon as possible.

Shadess advanced on Ryo, an angry look on her face. "Couldn't you have gone easy on the poor kid? He was obviously a beginner! I didn't train you to mercilessly torture your opponent's pokemon!"

Ryo shrugged. "He needed to know how tough the world is. He'll never learn otherwise."

Shadess was flabbergasted. "How dare you say that?! Pokemon aren't tools we use to destroy each other! They have as much feeling as you and me! That poor Riolu is probably in critical condition! You were meant to make it submit, not tear it to pieces!

Ryo grew angry. "Pokemon are our underlings. They aren't nearly as smart as you and me!"

Horrified, Shadess retaliated. "You sicken me! You're worse than dirt, you know that? If you keep treating pokemon like their mere slaves to do our work, then you can leave this Gym right now!"

"Fine! I don't need all this anyway. I'm plenty strong without you're brainwashing me on how pokemon are our friends! I'll find a teacher that thinks like me, and ask to be his student, instead of yours. I hope I never see you again!" He turned on his heel and left.

"Likewise!" Shadess yelled at his retreating figure. After a few minutes, she composed herself, and hastened to the Pokemon Centre to see how Jaden and his pokemon were.

**Wow, Ryo is one bad guy. I made Shadess fight back at him so that you wouldn't all think she was cruel as well. It's sad that Jaden had to lose, but if he won every battle it would be boring. Look out for Ryo, as we might see him again.**

**Next time, Shadess finds Jaden at the Pokemon Center and offers to teach him about the finer points of battling. Will Jaden accept her tutelage, or refuse it and storm off in a huff. Wait and find out!**

**If you're wondering how old Jaden is, he's just turned 13. Also, in this chapter I tried to give Sonyk a more playful personality, as I felt that he was too serious in all the other chapters before this. He's just hatched, and has the mind of a child, despite being remarkably intelligent. And don't forget about Merlin. He might have a minimal part so far, but he's very important in the next chapter.**

**And if you don't review, I'll send Jaden into depression. And we don't want that do we? ;) **


	7. The Training Regime

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**I am so sorry that I didn't update last night! I got caught up watching a Harry Potter DVD, and by the time it was done, it was past midnight. I still had time to write this, but my brother thought I was done with the internet and turned the modem off, disconnecting my laptop. Then I slept in until about 9:00 this morning, so I'm only updating this now. Thanks for waiting.**

**Last time, Jaden attempted to challenge Cleardawn Town's Gym Leader, only to be told that he had to defeat the Gym Leader's student first. The student, Ryo, brutally and ruthlessly savaged Jaden's pokemon in the ensuing battle. After Jaden's pokemon were hurried to the Pokemon Centre, the Gym Leader, Shadess, dismissed Ryo from her tutelage because of his harsh methods.**

**Lupyne: Thank-you for always reviewing and giving me good advice. I have decided to make Ryo the hostile one, and Erik just a supporting character. Erik's unwelcoming attitude in his first appearance is now merely due to him being worried for Jaden's safety.**

**The Training Regime**

Jaden sat, his head in his arms, at one of the many tables in the Pokemon Centre. He was trying to think of something else, but he couldn't stop the memories of what had happened flashing through his mind, each time making him feel worse and worse. He remembered running into the Pokemon Centre with Sonyk in his arms. He remembered telling Nurse Joy what had happened, while his pokemon were wheeled off on a trolley. But most of all he remembered how it had happened, Sneasel dashing at Sonyk and striking its chest. He remembered Sonyk falling to the ground, unconscious. He remembered Ryo laughing cruelly, and what he had said afterwards. "_Better luck next time." _He didn't understand how anyone could be as mean towards pokemon. He heard the electronic doors slide open, and looked up. Standing in front of him was Shadess. She looked a little upset.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi, I guess," he replied sourly. Shadess was shocked at the total lack of spirit and motivation in his voice, which had full of meaning and substance only 20 minutes before. She sat down opposite him.

"I'm sorry about what happened. How are your pokemon doing?"

Jaden's eyes filled with tears, and he lowered his gaze to the table, so she wouldn't see. "I don't know yet."

"Perhaps it will cheer you up to hear that Ryo is no longer my student."

Jaden looked up again. "Why."

"After you left, I reprimanded him for being so cruel. Then, I heard his true opinions of pokemon. He thinks they are just slaves to do our work. I told him I wouldn't stand for that, and he left." She looked sad. "It was my fault. I should have realised what he was before."

Jaden shook his head, saying: "No, it was my fault. I should have withdrawn from the match, before he attacked."

They both jumped, as their conversation was interrupted by a third voice. Nurse Joy was standing over them. "I'm pleased to say that your pokemon are in a stable condition. They are still injured, but they will recover. With our technology, and a bit of luck, they will be fine in a couple of days.

Jaden smiled, relieved that Sonyk and Merlin were going to be ok. Shadess also looked happy. Nurse Joy went back to her desk, while Jaden and Shadess sat down again. They sat in silence for a while, before Shadess suddenly straightened up.

"I just had an idea," she stated. "Are you still going to challenge all of the Gyms?"

"I dunno. I want to, but at the same time I don't want my pokemon to be hurt."

"You should. It's a fantastic opportunity to become closer to your pokemon."

"So what's the idea?" Jaden was becoming curious.

"When my pokemon get injured from a tough battle, or if they just need training when there's no one to practice against, I take them to the training centre in the Gym. If you want, and when your pokemon have recovered, I could show it to you. I could teach you about the finer points of battling, and help you train your pokemon until you can beat me. Do you accept?"

Jaden was intrigue by the prospect of training without his pokemon getting injured. But he knew he should get his pokemon's view on it first. "Can I think about it for a few days?" he eventually said.

"Of course. Just come to the Gym with your answer when you're ready."

She stood up and walked out of the Pokemon Centre. Jaden watched her go, wondering what Riolu will think.

The next day, Jaden woke up in his room at the Pokemon Centre. He got dressed and had a shower, then headed downstairs to Reception.

"Ah, Jaden, there you are. Your Riolu has woken up and wants to see you. Your Abra also nodded a lot, when Riolu made the request," said Nurse Joy, as he exited the elevator.

"Can I see him right now?"

"Of course you can. Just head through those doors over there." She pointed to a set of double doors.

Jaden opened the door and saw Sonyk and Merlin. He grinned and walked over to them, already in conversation.

A few days later, Sonyk and Merlin were healthy enough to leave the Hospital. Sonyk had agreed to undertake the training, and Merlin had nodded when Jaden asked. With them both in their pokeballs, he headed for the Gym. Standing outside, as if waiting for him, was Shadess. When she saw him, she smiled and waved. Jaden returned the gesture, and together they walked the rest of the way to the Gym. Inside, Shadess opened one of the doors that Jaden had noticed the first time he entered the Gym. When he passed through the gap, his jaw literally dropped when he saw what was on the other side.

A massive room, bigger than the one he had just vacated, lay before him. And the interior was filled with every possible item Jaden could imagine that helped train something. There were punching bags, dumbbells, weights and even a running track going all the way around the room.

All he could say was: "Woah."

"Impressive isn't it," said Shadess, obviously pleased at his reaction.

"Impressive? It's amazing!"

"I'm glad you think that way. You can train any type in here. Pokemon of any size can easily raise their stats and levels easily. So, do you want to get started?"

The answer, of course, was yes.

Over the next two weeks, Jaden and his pokemon trained every day, with the help of Shadess. She showed them the best ways to raise strength, and gave them exercises to do and drills to complete. She had Riolu see how many times he could punch in a minute, and had Merlin raise heavy objects with his mind. Jaden's bond with his companions was greatly increased, and he himself trained with exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups in order to motivate his pokemon.

Soon the time came when Merlin was able to connect to Jaden's mind, much like Riolu could, although wasn't able to speak yet. It could, though, send him images and emotions, which helped him understand its feelings. It had much the same personality as Riolu, but wasn't as mischievous as or playful as Sonyk, who even went as far as to play practical jokes on everyone.

Exactly 3 weeks after Jaden's first loss, after a particularly strenuous training session, Merlin started to glow. It grew in size, very quickly, soon becoming almost as big as Jaden. When the light faded, Merlin had evolved from an Abra to Kadabra. It looked at Jaden, a wise look in its eye, and sent Jaden a burst of happiness. Shadess' voice filled the room suddenly. Jaden turned around and saw here in the doorway.

"Congratulations!" she cried. "Merlin has managed to evolve. Now its psychic abilities have been enhanced by an extreme amount. I think you're nearly ready to face me. How does tomorrow sound?"

Jaden was thrilled that she considered him strong enough to challenge her. "I think tomorrow will be fine."

She grinned, flashing all of her brilliant white teeth. "I'll see you tomorrow then, at nine o'clock."

Jaden bid her farewell, then headed to the Pokemon Centre. On the way, he stopped in at the Pokemart, putting in a special order. After being told that he could pick it up the next morning, he retired to his room for the night. Before falling asleep, he pondered what pokemon Shadess had. Even though she was instructing him, she had refused to tell him, preferring him to wait until their battle to find out. Eventually Jaden fell asleep, dreaming about rare pokemon.

**This is probably my second-least favourite chapter so far, after the first one. Merlin was meant to stand out more, but ended up only being mentioned, near the end. If anyone's wondering what Jaden's special order at the Pokemart is, you'll just have to wait till the next chapter.**

**Next time, Jaden begins his battle against Shadess. Will he win the battle, and claim the Shadow Badge, or will he lose, and go back to training? Find out, in the next exciting chapter of Pokemon! Aura Adventure!**

**And don't forget to review, or Jaden might have an ... unfortunate accident, "Coughcough,Roof falling in,cough,hack.**

**By the way, I just remembered that I could show you a video that I made about Lucario. Just copy and paste the link into the URL bar except replace the (dot) with an actual dot(full stop). The link to the video is this: youtube (dot) com/watch?v=cTFoYgm4ung **

**I know that the usernames Animaster21 and Pokexplosion21 are different, but I did make that video, just check my email address, it's Pokexplosion as well.**


	8. Bonus Gym Leaders and Elite 4

**Hey guys, whats up? I've decided to be nice, and give you guys a bit of insight about the Gym Leaders and Elite 4, telling you there names, types and badges. However, I'm not so nice as to tell you the champion. You'll have to wait for that.**

**Gym Leaders**

Shadess - Dark - Shadow Badge

Irok - Steel - Iron Badge

Insecto - Bug - Insect Badge

Aquos - Water - Aquatic Badge

Frosty - Ice - Frost Badge

Quakus - Ground - Earthquake Badge

Boltek - Electric - Bolt Badge

Draconifo - Dragon - Draco Badge

**Elite Four**

#1 - Charlie - Grass

#2 - Kerry - Fighting

#3 - Horace - Poison

#4 - Rosy - Psychic

Champion - ????????????


	9. The Shadow Badge

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**Last time, Shadess visited Jaden at the Pokemon Centre, and gave Jaden an offer to help train his pokemon. He accepted, and when his pokemon recovered, he went to the training room in the gym. For a few weeks, Jaden and his pokemon trained there, Merlin eventually evolving into Kadabra. After the evolution, Shadess believed the Jaden was ready to fight her. The match was scheduled for 9:00 the next morning. On the way back to the Pokemon Centre that night, Jaden put in a special order at the Pokemart.**

**Hotrod198: I accept your OC, but I'll change his age to 15. Cole won't appear straight away in the story, but don't worry, he'll come along later on. I have very big, very secret plans for him. And don't worry he's not a bad guy. And he's not the person that Jaden's looking for either. Just one question though. Could I change his Sneasel to something else? Because Sneasel is already portrayed as a bad pokemon in this story, as Ryo has one, and he uses it to hurt pokemon badly.**

**The Shadow Badge**

The next morning the sun rose over the horizon. The sky was blue, with no clouds. It was a beautiful day. All over Bronko, humans and pokemon alike were waking up with joy in their hearts; there hadn't been a day quite this one for months.

Not everyone was delighted though. In the exact middle of Bronko, at the bottom of Nuclear Canyon, the shady Team Epsilon admin known as Gamma reported to his commander, at their secret base. Gamma had never seen his leader's face, as he always stood in shadow. Understandably, this made Gamma a bit nervous around him. That, and the fact that his leader's pokemon were so strong that they could blow apart all of Gamma's pokemon without even breaking a sweat. The man's name was Omega.

"And then, My Lord, the boys Blaziken knocked out my Aggron. So I left."

Omega's tone didn't change, but Gamma knew he was angry.

"So you left all of the weakened pokemon there?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Once again you have failed me. However, I am willing to forgive you ... under one condition of course."

"What is that, My Lord?"

"Bring me the boy."

"But, Sir, his pokemon are too strong! He defeated me easily!"

This time, Omega's voice did change. Raising his voice to a yell, he shouted, "Not that boy, you fool! The other one! The one who defied you originally! The one with the Riolu! He was right, you are an atrocity. You are an atrocity because you fail to obey orders when they are given to you! Now get out my sight and bring me that child!"

"Of course, Sir."

Gamma turned and left. On the way out, he wondered why he was being commanded to kidnap this teenager, when the other one was much more dangerous. He shrugged. Gamma had never known his master's plans to fail, so he assumed that Omega knew what he was doing. He called to some of his men and told them to find the boy and bring him back.

In a different part of Bronko, Jaden had woken up to the sound of a Fearow crowing loudly. He wondered what was so special about today, before remembering that he was meant to battle Shadess today. With a hurry, he got dressed and caught the elevator down to the breakfast bar. The breakfast was quite eventful. After getting its food, Sonyk had slipped on the way back to the table, and fell on Merlin, splattering food all over the psychic pokemon. In retaliation, Merlin had used its powers to levitate an entire tray of scrambled eggs, and then threw it at Sonyk, covering it in eggs. The sight on Sonyk and Merlin standing there, covered in food was too much for Jaden, who cracked up laughing. The bad part was Nurse Joy running over and giving them a stern lecture. She made them promise not to play up again, all she'll make them work to pay for their stay at the Pokemon Centre. After cleaning up and, eventually, eating breakfast, they had left for the gym. On the way, Jaden picked up his order from the Pokemart. He planned to use it to his advantage in the following battle. It cost him all the money he had, but he knew it would be worth it in the ensuing battle. After showing his pokemon what he had bought, he finally headed to the Gym.

Shadess was waiting just inside the doors. She smiled when she saw him, and then led him to the arena where the battle was to take place. To his surprise, he saw the girl he had met in Huckleberry Town, Sammy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She grinned. "I'm the judge of your match."

Jaden's jaw dropped. Shadess and Sammy both laughed at his expression. Shadess explained the situation to Jaden. "After you left yesterday, Sammy arrived in town. Me and her are old friends, so she came straight to the Gym to see me. When she asked what happened to Ryo, I told her what had happened and she revealed that she knew who you were. When I asked her if she would judge the match, she agreed to it straight away."

"Don't worry, I won't take sides. After all, this is a Gym match, which needs to be as fair as possible," said Sammy."Now, should we start?"

"Of course," replied Shadess. "You ready?" she directed this to Jaden, who nodded. The two trainers took their places at either side of the stage, while Sammy stood at the special judges circle at the side.

"Ok, listen up! This will be a standard Gym battle. You will each use two pokemon. The Gym leader cannot switch, but the challenger can at any time. If a pokemon leaves the ring for more than five seconds, or if it get knocked down and doesn't get up after ten seconds, it will be declared unfit for battle. Also, the Gym Battle Arena Type will be in play, of course."

"What's that?" asked Jaden.

"Oh, did I forget to tell you?" said Shadess. "To stop a Gym battle from being too easy for the challenger, the arena will be modified to better suit the Gym Leader's type. In this case, the lights will be dimmed until they are just bright enough to see the opponents. You will have to find a way to use the environment to your advantage."

Jaden smirked. "Ok," he said slyly. "Bring it on!"

"Let the match begin!" cried Sammy, and the two trainers pulled out their pokeballs and released their first pokemon. Jaden looked forward eagerly, curious to see what Shadess' pokemon was. Shadess threw her pokeball, and an Umbreon popped out. Jaden released Merlin. All of a sudden, the lights dimmed, and Jaden's view was rapidly reduced, until he could just make out the outlines of the pokemon. But Jaden wasn't fazed. He raised his arm, pointed at the roof and cried, "Merlin, use Flash, and then Hidden Power!"

Shadess gasped, and watched in horror as her advantage was robbed before she had even started using it. Merlin swirled its hands in front of it in a mystic fashion, then thrust its arms in the air. Light flooded the room, as a golden orb the size of a basketball materialized out of nowhere. Shadess threw her hands up in front of her eyes, shielding them from the glare. Jaden and Sammy made similar actions. Even Umbreon recoiled, turning its head away from the orb. That was its mistake.

As soon as Umbreon turned away Merlin, who alone was unaffected by the light, summoned several balls of energy. Gathering them together with its psychic powers, it thrust one of them towards Umbreon. Umbreon recovered from the light just in time to see the ball fly towards it, striking it in the side of its head, the ball disappearing right afterwards. Another ball soon followed the first, smacking its head on the opposite side. This ball also vanished.

Merlin considered for a moment, and then hurled the rest at Umbreon all at once. Umbreon was pummelled over and over again. Now the balls were not disappearing, but bending around and hitting Umbreon again. This continued for about half a minute before Shadess, who was standing in shock, pulled herself together and ordered a counterattack.

"Umbreon, use Snatch!"

Umbreon's eyes glowed, and the balls stopped attacking. Control over them had been swapped, due to the Snatch. They hovered in front of Umbreon, waiting for its orders. "Now, hit Merlin with its own Hidden Power!" said Shadess. Umbreon's eyes glowed again, and the balls flew back towards Merlin. Jaden smiled.

"Protect, Merlin!"

Merlin's hands once again waved in front of its face, and a blue shield appeared around it. The balls were absorbed into the shield when they hit it. Unfortunately, the second the balls had started their rush towards Merlin, Umbreon had followed, dashing towards Merlin. Merlin lowered the shield just in time to see Umbreon jump at it. The force of the impact sent Merlin flying out of the ring, but it teleported back inside before the five seconds was up. Umbreon took advantage of the confusion, biting Merlin, hitting it hard with super-effective damage. Merlin recovered quickly, though and sent out a psychic wall that pushed Umbreon back.

"Now," Jaden ordered. "Finish this off with Shock Wave!"

A crackling sound filled the air, as Merlin started generating enough power to perform the attack. Meanwhile, its psychic wall kept Umbreon at bay, but the charge-up for the Shock Wave was slowed, as Merlin was also concentrating on the wall as well as the attack. Finally, Merlin was ready, and an electric pulse erupted from its body, shocking Umbreon as it passed. This attack was too much, and Umbreon, already weakened from the Hidden Power, fell to the ground. It struggled to get back up, but failed, its legs folding like matchsticks underneath it.

"Umbreon is unable to battle!" called Sammy. "Jaden wins the first round!"

"Yeah, Merlin, we did it!" cried Jaden. Merlin smiled, as Jaden punched the air.

Shadess called back Umbreon.

"Have a good rest. You did well."

She reached to her necklace, which had a shrunken pokeball hanging from it. Pulling it off the chain, she threw it high in the air. In a brilliant flash of white, an Absol appeared.

"Wow! An Absol!" Jaden marvelled at the appearance of the pokemon. He knew that Absols were very strong and rare, and relished the challenge of fighting one.

Sammy looked at him. "Do you want to keep on using Merlin?"

"Can you go on Merlin?" Jaden asked it. Merlin nodded, determined to see this fight to the end.

"Ok! Start!"

Shadess didn't waste any time. "Absol, use Shadow Ball!"

Absol raised its head in the air and opened its mouth. A purple-black ball developed, growing size until it was as big as Absol's head. It released it, the ball speeding towards Merlin.

"Use Protect again!" called out Jaden, and again the blue force-field appeared. The ball hit the shield and rebounded, crashing into the wall.

"Use Shadow Ball again!"

"Protect!"

Once again the ball flew at Merlin, and once again it was deflected.

"One more time, Absol!"

"You can do it, Merlin!"

The ball formed again, but this time the shield flickered and vanished, leaving Merlin defenceless. The ball pounded its face, and for the second time, Merlin was knocked out of the ring. It weakly teleported back inside, but the energy it took exhausted the last of its strength, and it collapsed on the ground.

"Merlin is unable to battle! Absol wins!" cried Sammy. "You are both now down to your last pokemon."

Jaden called back Merlin, and complimented it on its battling. Then, he released Sonyk from its pokeball. "Are you ready, Sonyk?"

"_Oh, I'm ready Jaden! This is gonna be awesome! My first Gym Battle! I'm so excited!"_

"So am I. Now let's show 'em!"

Jaden got a shock as the lights dimmed again. "_Of course! Now that Merlin's out, Flash is gone."_

"_Don't worry! You've forgotten that I can use Aura to tell where my opponent is!"_

And proving it, Sonyk rushed into battle. Absol jumped in as well. They started attacking each other like ninjas, each trying to hit the other while dodging every attack that came near. Neither had hit the other at all when they both backed off. The only thing either had achieved was slightly tiring their opponents.

"_It's time for some drastic action!" _called Jaden with his mind.

"_Time to use my new attacks?"_

"_Yep."_

And with that final thought, Jaden yelled out, "Sonyk, use Drain Punch!"

Sonyk's hand glowed bright green, and it bolted towards Absol, swinging its arm. Absol had no time to react, and was sent sprawling across the floor. Most of its strength had been drained in the attack, but Sonyk was revitalised, sucking in the energy that had been taken from Absol. Shadess wasn't giving in though, and commanded one final attack.

"Absol, finish this with a multiple Shadow Ball!"

Absol opened its mouth again, this time forming about twenty balls of darkness. They all grew to the size of a basketball, Absol preparing to blast them all at Sonyk. But Jaden wasn't frightened. He knew what to do.

"Sonyk," he said. "Use Double Team!"

Sonyk started running around in a circle around Absol. It got faster and faster until it seemed as if multiple Sonyks were running around. Then Sonyk slowed, and Shadess realised that there _had_ been multiple copies. But which one was the real one? Absol looked around in confusion, not knowing where to aim. Eventually, it just started randomly firing into the circle of Riolus, as if hoping to hit the right one. But there were a lot more Sonyks than there were Shadow Balls. After Absol had exhausted his supply, all of the illusions started running around it again.

"_Jaden! I'm feeling a new power within me. I don't know what it is! What should I do?"_

Jaden had no idea. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Chip the Pokedex.

"What's happening to Sonyk?!" he asked it.

"Sonyk's learned a new move! Tell Sonyk to release it, not contain it."

"What move has it learned?"

"One of the two signature attacks of Riolu and Lucario."

Jaden grinned when Chip told him the name of the move. Tucking the Pokedex back into his pocket, he called out to Sonyk.

"Sonyk, use Force Palm!"

The copies of Sonyk vanished, and Sonyk himself appeared right in front of Absol's face. Sonyk placed his hand on Absol's chest and released his new attack. A massive pulse burst out of Sonyk's palm, hurling Absol across the entire length of the room, smashing him against the far wall. Absol didn't have the strength to get back up, and fainted.

"Absol is no longer able to battle! Jaden wins the match!" shouted Sammy.

"Awesome! We did it! You beat Absol and won the battle, Sonyk!" yelled Jaden, ecstatic that he won his first Gym Battle.

Shadess recalled her fainted Absol and walked over to Jaden.

"Congratulations! You've earned this, for your brilliant strategy and outstanding courage."

She handed him a small, circle-shaped badge .The Shadow Badge. Jaden pinned it to his jacket.

Sammy ran over and gave Jaden a massive hug.

"You did it!" she cried. Then she looked confused. "How did Sonyk and Merlin know all those cool moves, like Flash and Drain Punch? They can't learn them naturally, can they?"

Jaden grinned. "That was a secret strategy of mine. Last night, I went to the Pokemart and placed an order. I picked it up this morning."

Sammy was confused. "What was the order?"

"TM's," replied Jaden, still grinning. "I bought the TM's for Protect, Shock Wave, Drain Punch, Double Team and Hidden Power. Then I taught them to my pokemon.

"Lucky you did, or you wouldn't have won that match," said Shadess. "Now, let us go to the Pokemon Centre and have our pokemon healed.

**Wow. That was the funnest chapter I have ever written. It was also the longest. Now that Jaden's won the match, he has earned his first badge.**

**Next time, Jaden is challenged by Sammy again, who believes that he is strong enough to fight her full team. What she hadn't revealed was that she had also beaten Shadess before, and has a Shadow Badge of her own. Now, Jaden has to fight in a battle even tougher than the last, against a trainer that knows all his strategies. Will he win, or will he lose? Find out soon!**

**And don't forget to review, or I'll make Jaden accidently drop his new badge down the sink.**


	10. The Rumbling Rematch

**Pokemon **

**Aura Adventure**

Last time, Jaden faced off against Shadess in an exhilarating battle. To his surprise, the Judge of the match was none other than Professor Palm's daughter, Sammy. With the help of a few TMs ordered the day before, Jaden prevailed, and won the Shadow Badge as proof of his accomplishment.

* * *

The Rumbling Rematch

It was a few days after the Gym battle. Jaden spent his days walking around Cleardawn Town, and the surrounding areas, visiting all of the many attractions it offered. He wasn't leaving until the following week. Sammy was leaving then as well, and they were going to travel together to Daskon City, where Sammy had business. To Jaden's delight, Shadess informed him that there was Gym in Daskon City as well.

With a few days to go until they left, Jaden and Sammy went for a walk to the ancient ruins outside of ClearDawn Town. It was kind of creepy, strolling around inside the dark ruins, the slightest noise echoing throughout the caves. Every now and then, an Unown would pop off the wall and move to a different location, sometimes changing whole words written on the wall to something different.

"What type does the Gym Leader in Daskon City specialise in?" asked Jaden.

Sammy smiled. "Now, now, I can't tell you that! Where would all the fun be?"

"When did you meet Shadess?"

"We met when I was five years old. Of course, she didn't become Gym Leader until two years ago."

"Have you ever battled her?"

"Battled her?" replied Sammy. She laughed and pulled a case out of her backpack. Jaden recognised it, as he had one too. It was a Badge Case and he had been given one by Shadess the day after he beat her. Sammy opened hers and showed it to Jaden. Jaden gaped as he saw the small, black Shadow Badge inside, as well as a silver badge that he didn't recognise.

"You've beaten Shadess too?" he asked.

"That's right," she grinned. "And Daskon City's Gym as well."

Jaden grinned. "I just had an idea. To find out if I'm worthy enough to battle Daskon's Gym Leader, how about we battle."

Sammy nodded thoughtfully. "I agree, it will be fun to give you a rematch. When should we battle?"

"How about the day before we leave, in the Gym?"

"Ok. We'll sort out the rules with Shadess when we get back."

***********

"Good idea!" said Shadess, when they told her their plan. "So what are the conditions of the match?"

Jaden replied before Sammy could. "We thought we'd let you decide."

"Thanks. I think maybe a three on three battle."

Jaden was confused. "But I only have two pokemon."

Sammy and Shadess looked at each other and smiled. "We'll soon remedy that, won't we," said Shadess.

"How?"

Sammy answered. "You go out and catch another pokemon. Isn't it obvious?"

Jaden thought about it. Of course, he couldn't go his journey with only two pokemon. He thought it was a good idea to catch some more. He nodded.

"Ok."

"Don't tell us what it is until the battle. I want to be surprised," said Sammy.

"I'll go now!"

"Maybe you should look around a bit before you catch it. You might want to choose a special pokemon to catch."

"Good idea. I don't want to catch something that I'll never use again.

After leaving, Jaden headed out of town, into the forest. For the next hour he searched for a pokemon. He saw many, but didn't want to catch one until he saw one that he really wanted. After three hours searching, he eventually gave up and decided to search again the next day. As he walked back to the Pokemon Centre, he decided to stop off at the Pokemart to order some more TMs. After he left, he noticed a small pokemon limping into town. It was injured, but Jaden thought he recognised it. He ran over to it, pulling his potions out of his bag as he went. After administering them to it, he carried it to the Pokemon Centre.

The next morning, Jaden came down to reception and asked how the pokemon was doing."It was injured badly, but it'll recover. I was so surprised when you walked in carrying it. I thought I would never see it again. Where did you find it?"

"I saw it come into town when I came out of the Pokemart."

"Well, it's good that you did. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes please."

Nurse Joy turned around and went into the back room. She returned with the pokemon, and Jaden held out a pokeball. The pokemon's face lit up and it nodded.

Jaden woke up on the day of the battle in high spirits. He walked downstairs in anticipation of the day's event. After eating, he walked over to the Gym.

"Finally! We've been waiting for ages for you to show up," called Shadess when he walked through the doors into the cold, dark interior of the Gym.

"Well, I'm here now. Should we start?"

Sammy tutted. "Always straight to the point, aren't you? Alright, we'll start now."

They lined up at either end of the Arena. Shadess stood where Sammy had stood a week before, in the Judge's circle at the side.

"Ok," she said. "You both know the rules? They're the same as before, except it's three on three, and there's no Gym Battle Arena Type in play. Also, you can both switch at any time. You both got that?"

Jaden and Sammy nodded. Shadess nodded as well, and then said, "Ok! Let the battle begin!"

Jaden pulled out his first pokeball, and flung it into the air. With a burst of light, Sonyk appeared on the ground. Sammy threw her pokeball too, and a Mightyena emerged. Shadess was interested.

"And who's this pokemon?" she asked Sammy.

"This is Fang. Jaden's battled him before, but he was just a Poochyena back then."

"So Fang evolved, eh? It'll be fun battling him again," said Jaden

"And this time will have different results from before. Fang, use Howl!"

Fang's hackles rose, and an ear-splitting sound erupted from its throat. Sonyk's fur shivered.

"_Wow, that's scary! It's so loud!" _he cried in Jaden's head.

Fang finally quieted down. It growled, and leaped towards Sonyk, who dodged easily.

"Sonyk, use Drain Punch!"

Sonyk's hand glowed green. It swung towards Fang's unprotected side and smashed it high in the air. Fang whined loudly as its stamina was sucked out of it into Sonyk.

"Now use Force Palm."

Sonyk placed its palm on Fang's forehead. Before it could use the attack, though, Fang twisted its head around, and closed its jaws, trapping Sonyk's entire arm in its mouth. Sonyk cried out, but didn't stop the attack. The Mightyena's eyes grew wide as it was blasted by a Force Palm from the inside. It opened its mouth and backed away, squealing and yelping.

"Now use Karate chop!" called Jaden, and Sonyk brought its arm down on Fang's head. Fang went cross-eyed, and it collapsed to the floor in a heap.

"Fang is unable to battle! Sonyk wins!" announced Shadess. Sammy recalled Fang, then threw another pokeball. Out came a Natu.

"Ok XarXar. Show him how we do it!" she said. "Use confusion!"

Natu's eyes glowed. Sonyk was lifted into the air, a blue outline around it. Its eyes were screwed shut, as it struggled to free himself from the psychic bonds. Finally XarXar stopped the attack, and Sonyk fell to the ground. It picked itself back up though, and ran at XarXar. Halfway there, it bounced off an invisible wall. It tried to run left, but bounced off another wall.

"_Sonyk, use Aura to see where the gaps in the wall are!"_

"_Of course, why didn't I think of that?"_ replied Sonyk.

It concentrated for a moment, then started threading its way through the walls. Just before it got to XarXar, though, Sammy called to the Natu.

"Use Fly!"

XarXar flew up into the air, where Sonyk couldn't get to it. Finally, it straightened its wings and soared back down, striking Sonyk on its way past. Sonyk fell to the ground, but quickly jumped back up.

"_It's no use! I can't lay a finger on it!"_

"_We'll have to use Merlin to beat it. It's the only one who can get past XarXar's barriers."_

Jaden pulled out Sonyk's pokeball, and withdrew it. Then, he threw Merlin's high in the air.

Sammy laughed. "Perhaps you've forgotten, but XarXar is Psychic as well. So Merlin's attacks won't do much to it. XarXar has a second type though, and Merlin is weak to physical attacks."

Jaden laughed as well. Merlin levitated itself into the air, and flew at XarXar.

"Merlin, use Fire Punch!"

Merlin's fist burst into flames, and it punched XarXar right out of the air. XarXar landed hard, and Merlin flew down at it.

"Now, use Thunder Punch!"

This time Merlin's fist started crackling with electricity, and it delivered a powerful shock to XarXar.

"Finish it off with Ice Punch!"

For the final time, Merlin punched XarXar, now with a fist of ice. XarXar fainted, and fell over.

"XarXar is unable to battle!" Merlin wins the second round!" cried Shadess, as Sammy released her third, and final, pokemon. With a flash of light, a Scyther appeared.

Sammy smirked. "Let's see if you can beat Scythe as well."

"Merlin, use your Hidden Power attack!"

Merlin waved its hands around in front of it. A dozen white balls were summoned around it, swirling about in the air. Merlin thrust its arms forward, and the balls zoomed towards Scythe. To Jaden's surprise, Scythe dodged and weaved around all of them, running towards Merlin all the while.

"Now, Scythe, attack with Fury Cutter!"

Scythe's arms, sharp as swords, started chopping through the air. One of them connected with Merlin, who was knocked to ground.

"Now, X-Scissor!"

Scythe crossed its arms in the air above it, then brought them down upon Merlin. Merlin cried out, then fell silent.

"Merlin is unable to battle!" said Shadess again.

"_Sonyk, do you think you can handle this?"_

"_I dunno, it's pretty strong."_

"_You can do it. I believe in you!"_

"_Alright then, send me out."_

Jaden released Sonyk, who immediately made a mad dash at Scythe, trying to hit it. But Scythe was just too fast, dodging every attack, then knocking Sonyk back with a False Swipe. Sonyk dropped to one knee, panting heavily. Scythe followed up with a Wing Attack, before knocking Sonyk out with a Razor Wind.

"Sonyk is unable to battle. Scythe wins!"

Jaden called back Sonyk. "You did well, buddy."

"_Thanks,"_ it managed to murmur.

Jaden reached to his belt and pulled off his last pokeball. Throwing it in the air, he cried, "I choose you, Flare!"

Shadess' eyes grew to the size of tennis balls. "Isn't that Ryo's Houndour!"

Jaden nodded. "He must have abandoned it when it lost to Sonyk. I saw it come into town a couple of days ago. It was really hurt. Nurse Joy healed it back up though."

"It makes sense that Ryo left it behind," said Shadess. "He was always saying it was weak, even though it wasn't. I'm glad you're its new trainer. Ryo pushed it far too hard. Now, let's get this battle back on the road."

Jaden nodded. Turning to face Flare, he ordered an Ember attack. Flames licked the corners of Flare's mouth as it blew a stream of fire at Scythe. Scythe tried to dodge, but its leg got burned in the attack.

"Now, while it's hurt, use Bite!"

Flare ran up to Scythe, and bit down hard on Scythe's injured leg. Scythe grunted, and tried to cut Flare, but Flare had already let go.

"Now use Smog!"

Flare puffed out it's cheeks, then blew out puffed a load of smoke right in Scythe's face. Scythe coughed and wheezed, but then fanned away the Smog by flapping its arms rapidly. It was too late though, as Flare had already jumped into the air at it.

Jaden's eyed flashed. "Use Fire Fang!"

Flare's teeth glowed cherry red, the clamped down on Scythe's head. Suddenly, without warning, the teeth burst into flames. Scythe hollered out, then collapsed onto the ground, its strength fading away like smoke on the wind.

Shadess' shout filled the Gym. "Scythe is unable to battle! Jaden is the winner of the battle!"

"All right! We won!" yelled Jaden, and he ran up to Flare, fell to his knees, and swept it into a hug. Flare, not used to such kindness, was silent, then growled happily and licked Jaden's face. Footsteps caught Jaden's attention, and he looked up to see Sammy and Shadess standing over him, beaming.

"I think that you are easily worthy to battle all the Gym leaders in Bronko."

Happiness filled Jaden at Sammy's words. "Really?"

Sammy nodded. Shadess nodded as well, holding out her hand. Jaden took it, and Shadess pulled him up.

"You've done well," she praised.

"Thanks."

"I think you've proved yourself strong enough to have this," she said, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a disk.

"Take this TM. It teaches the move Return, which gets stronger the more your pokemon likes you.

"Thanks," Jaden said again.

"Now, you two should go to the Pokemon Centre and get your pokemon checked up on."

The next day, Jaden and Sammy headed to the South exit of town, ready to head to Daskon City. Shadess was waiting for them.

"It's been fun having you two around," she said. "It's sad to see you go."

Sammy smiled. "Don't worry. We'll see each other again soon."

"I hope so," replied Shadess. She turned to Jaden. "I hope that you can beat all the other Gym Leaders as well. Out of all the trainers I know, I think that you're the one most likely to go all the way to the top and become a Pokemon Master."

"Thank-you. I won't let you down," Jaden said. He held out his hand to shake, but Shadess pulled him into a massive hug.

"I guess I'll see you soon then," she said, after she let go.

"Yeah," Sammy replied. "Well, we better be off then."

Jaden and Sammy turned around and walked out of Town. When they were about one hundred metres away, Jaden turned back and waved. In the distance, he saw Shadess wave back. Then he turned and followed Sammy into the wilderness.

* * *

Shadess woke up in a dark room. She tried to move, but found that she was tied to a chair. Her mouth was plugged by a knot of rags so she couldn't cry out. A door behind her opened. She managed to crane her head around enough to see a man she recognised from surveillance photos as Gamma, a member of Team Epsilon. He walked up to her and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. He tugged the rags out of her mouth and spoke in a soft, but threatening voice.

"You're going to tell me everything you know about the boy named Jaden."

* * *

So there you have it. Chapter 9 of the Aura Adventure series. I enjoyed writing this chapter, but it's getting slightly more difficult to think of plans and strategies for every battle. Oh well, I'll just have to manage.

Next time, Jaden gets attacked by a very strong wild pokemon. Will he be able to fight and catch it, or will he be defeated? And what's up with Team Epsilon, kidnapping a Gym Leader just to get to Jaden? Looks like they really want him. But what lengths will their shady leader, Omega, go to capture him. You'll have to wait and see!


	11. Fishing For Trouble

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Last time,Jaden defeated Sammy in a challenging battle against her pokemon. As Jaden and Sammy left ClearDawn Town, Shadess was kidnapped by Gamma, an admin of Team Epsilon.

I am so sorry about the wait between chapters; I developed a tiny bit of Writers Block. For a few days I just couldn't come up with any ideas, until about a day ago when I managed to pull myself together. To help myself, I made a small file in Notepad, which has the basic plot of each chapter. This way I can have the entire story planned out, so I don't run out of ideas.

* * *

Fishing for Trouble

"Do you have any pokemon apart from the ones you battled me with?" asked Jaden, as the two teenagers walked down a path. Since leaving ClearDawn Town the day before, they had managed to traverse about half the distance to the next town. The journey had been mostly uneventful, except for a few battles with passing trainers. Mostly, Jaden and Sammy just chatted about pokemon, and about what they were going to do in each town.

"Yes, I have one more. It's a Krabby, nicknamed Pincer." Sammy said. "I don't have it with me now though. I lent it to Dad."

"Cool. I love Krabby. They evolve into Kingler, and they're really strong."

Sammy stopped, and pointed to the lake they were walking past. "I caught it in there, actually."

Jaden was surprised. "You can catch Krabby in there?"

"Yeah," Sammy nodded. "In fact, I've got a Good Rod in my backpack; do you want to try fishing with it?"

"Huh? You've got a Good Rod in that tiny bag?"

Sammy laughed. "It's collapsible. I can fold it up really small, and put it in. So do you want to try it?"

Jaden nodded. "Sure." Sammy nodded as well, then opened up her bag. She pulled out 8 small poles, which she screwed together. Finally, she pulled out some fishing wire and attached it to the rod. The wire had a miniature, metal Remoraid on the end. Sammy passed the rod to Jaden, who cast it into the water.

"You should get a bite in about a minute. That Remoraid lure is electronic, so it'll vibrate in the water. Pokemon are really curious, so they'll come up to see what's causing the disturbance. It's just a question of what pokemon will come first. I wonder what it'll be."

"Dunno," answered Jaden. He felt a tug and started reeling in. "I hope that it's a good ca-." He stopped talking suddenly. Sammy followed his eyes to the water. Her eyes widened. Being pulled out of the water, caught on the remoraid lure, was a Magikarp. Unlike normal Magikarp though, which were red, this Magikarp was pure gold, with white pectoral and tail fins.

"It's...a shiny," breathed Sammy, barely able to believe her eyes.

Jaden started reeling like crazy, pulling the shiny Magikarp towards him as quickly as possible. When it was close enough, he pulled an empty pokeball off his belt and flung it at the fish pokemon. The Magikarp's mouth was gaping, making a gasping noise over and over again. When the pokeball hit it, it rapidly turned into red energy, and was sucked into the pokeball. The ball started shaking, rocking back and forth. Just as Jaden thought he had caught it, the ball opened and the Magikarp sprang out. By now, it was angry, and flopped towards him.

"Go, Merlin!"

Merlin came out of his pokeball. The Magikarp bounced slowly over to it, gasping like its life depended on making as much noise as possible. Merlin raised its arm, and its hand glowed. The Magikarp was lifted in the air, then smashed back to the ground. As it gasped in pain, its body was bathed in white light. The light started growing, morphing into a much larger shape. When the light faded, Jaden found himself face to face with a furious Gyarados. This wasn't any ordinary Gyarados, though. Like the Magikarp it had evolved from, the Gyarados was a shiny pokemon. Instead of being blue, like most of its kind, this sea dragon was bright red. It roared in Jaden's face, blowing his hair back and blasting him with hot air.

"Jaden, we have to get out of here!" screamed Sammy. She ran over to him and yanked at his sleeve, but he shook her off quickly.

"It's just evolved. It won't know its own strength." Jaden pointed at the Gyarados, and called to his Kadabra.

"Merlin, use Confusion!"

Merlin focused, and the Gyarados screwed up its eyes in pain. "Now, Hypnosis!" called Jaden. Merlin waved its hands in front of it, and Gyarados's eyes drooped. After about ten seconds, it fell to the ground with a crash.

Jaden grinned. "Now use Dream Eater." Merlin's eyes glowed again, and a rush of air came out of Gyarados at it. Finally, Jaden pulled out a greatball. He flicked it at the Gyarados, and it was sucked inside. The ball rocked until, finally, it stopped. Sammy was astounded.

"Wow! You really are a good trainer, you know." Jaden strolled over to the greatball, and picked it up. He smiled at the ball, glad to have another member on his team. The two youths turned around when they heard a shout coming from the forest beside the lake. Two men in black clothes ran out of the trees.

"You're coming with us, little boy!" one of them yelled.

"Who are you?" asked Sammy loudly.

"We're from Team Epsilon. We've been ordered to grab you, and anyone else with you," said the first one. His partner punched him on the arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

"You idiot! You weren't meant to tell them something like that! What did you do that for?" said the second man, an annoyed look on his face."

"It doesn't matter what they hear! When we've got them, it won't matter," replied the first guy. "Anyway, let's get 'em."

He pulled a pokeball from his belt and released a Golbat. His companion released a Misdreavus. Sammy and Jaden responded by sending out Scythe and Flare.

"Flare, use Fire Fang!"

"Scythe, hit it hard with Slash!"

Flare's teeth glowed, and it jumped at the Misdreavus, clamping it's incisors over Misdreavus' face. The teeth burst into flame, knocking the feminine ghost out. Meanwhile, the Golbat was being hacked up by Scythe's sharp forearms. With a faint noise of disbelief, the two men called back their pokemon and ran away. Jaden and Sammy smiled at each other, then called back their pokemon as well, and headed down the path towards Daskon.

"We battle well together," said Sammy.

Jaden grinned. "Yeah, I guess we do."

The next day, the teens arrived in Daskon City. After resting for an hour in the Pokemon Centre, Jaden and Sammy headed to the Gym. Jaden opened the door and they walked inside. To Jaden's surprise, there was already a battle in progress. The two watched as a Blaziken used Sky Uppercut on a Metang. The Metang fell to the ground, unconscious. A referee raised a flag in the air.

"Metang is unable to battle. Erik wins the match."

Jaden's eyes bulged. Sammy noticed, and asked what was wrong.

"That's Erik. I recognise his Blaziken."

"Where do you know him from?" asked Sammy.

"Erik was the one who rescued me from Gamma. You know, the guy from Team Epsilon."

Erik walked over, placing his new badge in his badge case. "Well, well, well, look who it is. I remember you."

"And I remember you," replied Jaden. "You collect Gym badges? Me too."

Erik grinned. "You do? That's good to know. Not many people collect the badges these days. It's a bit sad; they used to be really popular when I was about five years old."

"I collect them too," piped up Sammy. Erik looked at her, a smile growing on his face.

"I know you. Aren't you Professor Palm's daughter?"

Sammy was dumbfounded. "How did you know?"

"I've seen you on TV, in interviews with your Father."

"Cool," said Sammy.

"So," said Erik, clapping his hands together. "How about you two verse me in a double battle. You both use three pokemon each, and I'll use my full team of six."

Jaden nodded. "Sure. Are you up to it?" he asked Sammy. She nodded, grinning.

"When?"

"How about right now? Right here in the Gym. I'm sure the Leader, Irok, will let us."

The three of them walked to the Arena in the middle of the room. Sammy strolled up to the man Erik had beaten, (who Jaden assumed was Irok) and started talking to him. Irok nodded, and turned to Jaden.

"Hi, you must be Jaden. Sammy says you and her want a battle with Erik, in the Arena. That's fine with me. Are you ready?"

Jaden nodded, then said, "You know Sammy?"

Sammy pulled her badge case out and showed it to Jaden. "Don't you remember? I have two badges. One of them is from Irok here."

Irok smiled, then shook his head. "Enough talk! Let's get this battle started."

Erik stood at one end of the Arena, while Jaden and Sammy stood next to each other on the side. Jaden released Sonyk, and Sammy sent out Fang, her Mightyena, while on the other side of the room, Erik released a Piloswine, and a Crawdaunt. Jaden grinned. This was gonna be one hell of a battle.

* * *

Can Jaden and Sammy defeat Erik, and his strong pokemon? Who knows? You'll just have to wait and find out. Review, and then find out next time on Pokemon: Aura Adventure.


	12. 2 Vs 1! Double Battle!

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

OMG, I am so sorry about the gap between updates! I've been getting ready for school, buying supplies and stuff. Then Mum banned my laptop for a week when I stayed up way to late on it one night, so I was late for school the next day because I was so tired. Anyway, I'm back, with a new chapter. As you all probably know, last time Jaden caught a red Gyarados, and arrived in Daskon City. When he headed to the Gym with Sammy, he found Erik defeating Irok, the Gym Leader. After the battle, Erik challenged Jaden and Sammy to a double battle. Jaden accepted, and the battle begun!

Jaden felt slightly nervous as he looked upon Erik's first two pokemon, trying to think up a strategy. He knew that Piloswine and Crawdaunt could be very powerful if well trained, and he hoped that he and Sammy could defeat them. Taking action, he called to Sonyk. Beside him, he heard Sammy directing her Mightyena, Fang.

"Sonyk, use Force Palm on that Crawdaunt!"

"Fang, use Shadow Ball on Piloswine!"

Sonyk charged to Crawdaunt, and held its paw to Crawdaunt's chest. Next to Sonyk, an orb of black energy smashed Piloswine. A flash of light exploded out of Sonyk's palm, throwing Crawdaunt back. It cried out, but stood back up easily. Likewise, the Piloswine seemed unfazed by the Shadow Ball. Sammy gasped.

"Those pokemon are really well-trained."

"Of course. I made sure to make my pokemon as strong as possible before taking on the Gym Leaders," replied Erik coolly. "Now, it's time to fight back. Pilomino, use Blizzard!"

The Piloswine opened its mouth and a storm of ice blew out. It was so cold that icicles started forming from the roof. Sonyk and Fang were both blown off their feet, unable to withstand the strong winds that were blowing the snow around. Jaden squinted, trying to see through the whiteness. He raised a pokeball.

"Sonyk, return!"

"_Gladly."_

Sonyk jumped back into its ball, as Jaden pulled another from his belt.

"Go, Jaws!"

Erik's eyes widened as a red Gyarados erupted from the tiny ball. The massive pokemon took up at least a quarter of the battling area, and the blizzard wasn't strong enough to pierce the sea-dragon's crimson scales.

"Jaws, use Rain Dance!"

Jaws twisted around, sliding back and forth over the floor, moving in a pattern. Clouds appeared in the Gym, and big, heavy raindrops started to fall. The rain was so heavy that the Blizzard was stomped out, ending the snow-storm. While Pilomino was distracted by the falling water, Fang took the opportunity to attack. A Shadow Ball streaked through the air towards Pilomino, striking it directly in the face. Already weakened from the rain, it gave a cry of pain and collapsed to the ground.

"Alright, we did it!"

Sammy grinned. "You betcha."

Erik seemed a little taken aback about his pokemon fainting, as if he didn't believe it was possible. Reaching for his belt, he held up another pokeball.

"Go, Zap!"

A bolt of lightning exploded from Erik's pokeball, and struck the ground where Pilomino had been twenty seconds before. Slowly, the glare from the lightning faded, and a strange-looking pokemon appeared. It had an orange body, with blue electricity sparking off it, giving it the appearance of having arms.

"It's a Rotom!" cried Jaden.

"Wow, those are really rare. Where did you get it?"

Sammy directed this last question towards Erik. He smiled, and answered.

"A few months ago, I was watching TV when the screen went really fuzzy, and weird images were on the screen. I gave the TV a good thump, because I thought it was just a problem with the signal. After I bumped it, Zap here popped out. Believe me; it gave me quite a shock when I saw it. When I finally figured out that it was a pokemon, I threw a pokeball and caught it. Now, enough of the chit-chat. Zap, attack with Discharge!"

Zap's electric arms folded in towards its body, then erupted outwards, hitting both Jaws and Fang. Jaws roared in pain from the double weakness to electric.

"Return, Jaws! I'll need you later."

Jaws gratefully retreated into its pokeball. Jaden was astounded at the sheer strength of Erik's pokemon.

"Go, Flare!"

Flare burst from his ball with a blast of fire. Quickly sizing its opponents up, it jumped into battle without even waiting for Jaden's instructions. In a few short seconds, Flare was hanging off Erik's Crawdaunt by its teeth. Crawdaunt, who so far had done nothing in this match, was trying to shake Flare off.

"Lobman, use Dark Pulse!" called Erik.

The Crawdaunt focused, and a ring of dark aura was expelled from it. Flare closed its eyes as the attack hit it, and was blown clear of Lobman. Landing hard on the ground, Flare was hit with a Bubblebeam from the crayfish pokemon. Meanwhile, Fang was trying unsuccessfully to hit Zap with multiple different attacks, panting heavily all the while. Zap was dodging every Shadow Ball and Crunch, occasionally shooting off a thunderbolt or two. Fang's eyes narrowed and it lifted its tail into the air, the tail glowing menacingly. Swinging the shining tail around and knocked out Zap with its Iron Tail. As Zap was recalled by Erik, Fang keeled over, exhausted, and fainted as well.

"Come back, Fang, have a good rest. You've done really well," said Sammy, as she retrieved Fang to his pokeball. Throwing a pokeball high in the air, she sent XarXar into the fray.

"Show them how to do it, Hamm!"

Erik sent out a Hariyama, and it gave XarXar its greetings by smacking it in the face with a meaty fist. XarXar was thrown back but recovered quickly, hurling Hamm into the wall with its telekinetic abilities.

"Lobman, Hydro Pump!" called Erik.

Lobman opened its massive jaw and an absolutely huge fountain of water gushed out, heading straight for Fang. The small dog looked at the torrent pouring towards it, and hung its head, accepting defeat. It was therefore surprised, as the water turned of course, and hit Hamm instead. Fang looked around wildly, before noticing XarXar concentrating, a purple aura around it.

Growling its thanks towards the psychic bird, Fang leapt at Lobman, and closed its chops on the star on Lobman's forehead. Lobman bellowed, and fell to the ground. The star was its weak point, and the special properties of Fang's sharp teeth were draining its strength immensely. Finally, with a last murmur, Lobman gave in and fainted. Fang jumped away, howling in triumph, but its victory was short-lived.

"Hamm, Cross Chop!"

Hamm crossed its arms in the air above Fang, and bought them down on Fang's head. Fang yelped, and sank to the ground, almost unconscious. Hamm bought it hands up for another attack, but a split second before striking, it was held back by an invisible force. XarXar was holding back Hamm's arms with Psychic. Bounding up, Fang started barraging Hamm with a combination of physical and fire attacks.

Slowly, Hamm's arms started quivering as the effects of the onslaught started to take their toll. Then, without warning, it bought its hands down, and hammered its massive arms into Fang, who couldn't handle the power of the move. Howling loudly, Fang fainted.

"How did Hamm do that?!" cried Sammy. "He should have been restricted by XarXar!"

Erik laughed. "Why don't you take a look at XarXar then."

Jaden and Sammy both examined XarXar, who was standing unnaturally still. Suddenly, it fell over, unconscious.

Jaden gasped. "What happened?!"

Erik glanced up at the ceiling. "Look up there."

Sammy looked up, and saw a bat-like pokemon flying high in the air, its long, armoured tail swishing behind it.

"It's a Gliscor!" she cried, as she recognised it.

"That's right. Impressed?"

Jaden grinned. "Of course. You have sweet pokemon. But not as cool as mine. Go Jaws!"

"It's your turn now, Scythe!" yelled Sammy at the same moment.

The ruby-scaled Gyarados detonated from its pokeball, while at the same time Sammy's Scyther jumped out as quickly as a bullet.

"Jaws, use Hyper Beam!"

"Scythe, use Silver Wind!"

Scythe waved its wings incredible quickly, and a strong wind blew up, blowing Hamm off its feet. Jaws followed up with an utterly monstrous beam of power that wiped Hamm out easily. Erik grinned, and called back the large fighting pokemon.

"Now my friend," he said to his last pokemon. "It's time to dance. Go, Blaze, and overwhelm them with your strength."

Erik's Blaziken almost destroyed the pokeball as it exploded out into the arena.

"Now, hit Jaws while it's recovering!" Erik hollered.

Blaziken charged at Jaws, knocking Scythe out of the way when it tried to defend the sea-dragon. Blaziken leapt into the air, and its foot burst into flame as it hurled through the air, eventually coming into contact with Jaws' face, sending it hurling to the ground. Jaws bellowed as the ground cracked beneath its weight. Jaws looked up just in time to see Glisclaw's Night Slash cut into its face. With a final roar, Jaws collapsed to the ground.

"You did really well, have a rest," called Jaden, as he bought Jaws back to its pokeball.

"_And now it's down to two vs. two,"_ Sonyk said in Jaden's head, as he appeared from his ball.

"Sonyk, use Force Palm!"

Sonyk jumped up trying to hit Blaze, but it was no use. Sonyk was fast, but Blaze's speed was unmatched by anything Jaden had ever seen. It was obvious that Erik and his Blaziken had a very strong bond with each other.

"Glisclaw, use Fire Fang!"

Glisclaw swooped down at Scythe, its fangs glowing like hot plates. With a mighty snap, they closed on Scythe, who struggled to get free. Before it could, Glisclaw shook it like a rag and threw it to the ground.

"Come on, Scythe, don't give up! Use X-Scissor!"

Scythe crossed its arms, and used the wings on its back to fly up into the air. With one final effort, it slashed at Glisclaw. Gliscaw was momentarily paralysed by the attack, and fell the long distance to the hard floor, where it collapsed in a heap.

"Now it's two vs. one!" shouted Sammy gleefully.

"Not for long. Blaze, destroy them with Brave Bird!"

Blaze glowed bright blue, and smashed itself into Scythe, who was knocked out instantly. The force of the attack greatly injured Blaze as well, and it winced in pain.

"Be careful Jaden, it's down to you now. My pokemon have all fainted, only you can win this now," said Sammy, looking worried.

"No need to fret. Sonyk, use Double Team!"

Sonyk started to run in circles around Blaze getting faster and faster until there were multiple copies around it.

Erik smirked. "It's no good. Blaze Kick."

Blaze's foot exploded into fire once again, and it spun in a complete circle, obliterating all of the copies, and sending the real Sonyk flying.

"Now! Finish it off! Sky Uppercut!"

Blaze hurled itself towards the injured Riolu, gaining speed while holding its right arm back. When it reached Sonyk, it released an explosive punch which sent the black and blue aura guardian straight to the ground.

"Erik wins the battle!" called Irok from the sidelines.

Jaden ran up to Sonyk. "You did your best buddy, and I'm proud of you," said Jaden, picking Sonyk up gently. Sensing someone above him, he looked up to see Erik holding out his hand. Jaden rose to his feet and shook it, smiling.

"Your pokemon are amazing! How did you train them to be so strong?"

Erik laughed. "My teacher was a legendary trainer. He's young, but incomparably powerful. You think I'm strong, you should see him."

"It would be good to meet him some day," Sammy said.

Erik nodded. "You will if you keep on battling gyms. He seeks out strong trainers to battle, and gyms are, of course, the best way to meet strong trainers. I warn you though, he has never lost a battle, and the bond he has with his pokemon is amazing. Now, there was something I need to ask you."

"Yeah?" asked Jaden.

"Today was the greatest and most challenging battle of my life. You two have impressed me, which is unusual, as I don't mean to brag, but I am a pretty good trainer. But if we're all taking on the gyms, do you think it would be ok for me to travel with you? I'm sure it would be a good experience for all of us."

Jaden looked at Sammy, who slowly nodded. Jaden turned back to Erik and grinned.

"I think you've got yourself a deal there, Erik."

Erik's face lit up. "Awesome! Anyway, we'd better get to the Pokemon Centre, because I don't think our pokemon will forgive us if we tarry any longer."

And there we have it! I have finally, after about three weeks, finished this damn chapter. For some reason, it was hard to get going, and then I had my laptop banned, and only got it back now. So, I quickly wrote this so that you don't have to wait any longer. I thank you for waiting as long as you did, although now that school has started I'll probably only be able to update about once a week. I'll also try and make this story my number one priority on the weekends.

Next time, on Aura Adventure, Jaden and Erik accompany Sammy on her business in Daskon City. How will they react when they find out the business is infiltrating a secret base of Team Epsilon? And what will they find in the shadowy hideout? Find out next week, or maybe even tomorrow, if I write it then.


	13. Breaking And Entering

Pokemon

Aura Adventure

Please forgive me! I am so sorry about the length between updates! My parents have got a new rule, where (unless I'm doing my homework) I can't go on my laptop during the week, all because of my stupid brother not doing his homework. It's not too bad, as it's got me off my internet addiction, but it also means that I have to wait a week before I can write another chapter. Also, last weekend, I had a really bad cold, and didn't feel like writing, and by the time I got better, it was already during the week. Anyway, enough blathering, here's the chapter.

* * *

Breaking And Entering

"So, what's your "business" in Daskon, anyway?" asked Erik, as the trio of trainers walked around the city. Sammy went red, and stopped walking.

"Can I trust you two with some top-secret stuff?" she asked hesitantly. Jaden and Erik both nodded eagerly. "Well, Dad asked me to check out a science lab."

Jaden was confused. "What's so secret about that?"

Sammy looked annoyed. "I'm about to tell you, shut up and listen. Dad thinks that the lab is actually a Team Epsilon base in disguise. A lot of pokemon around this area have been going missing, and the lab was only made a few months ago, and that was when the disappearances started."

Erik whistled."Sounds interesting." He grinned. "Maybe you could use a little back-up. Me and Jaden would be happy to help, wouldn't we, Jay."

Jaden nodded, smiling. He and Erik had made fast friends. "Sure. I love breaking into secret places and foiling the bad guy's evil plans."

Sammy looked relieved. "I wasn't actually meant to even tell anyone, but I'll be glad to have someone along for the ride, rather than going in alone."

Erik grinned again. "Awesome, when do we go?"

"Tonight, if that's ok with you both."

Jaden and Erik both nodded, and then spoke at the same time. "Cool."

That night, three shadows climbed out of a window in the Pokemon Centre. They were all garbed in black clothes, and blended in well with the dark sky. Creeping through town, they arrived at the new science lab at midnight. After sneaking around to one of the windows at the back, the lead person pulled off her mask.

"So far so good, guys," Sammy whispered, as she inspected the window. "Crap, this window is rigged up to an alarm. If we break the glass, or even try to open the window, we'll get caught."

Jaden grimaced. "So how do we get in?"

Sammy grabbed a pokeball. "With pokemon of course. XarXar, block the alarm with Extrasensory.

XarXar glowed purple, and one the other side of the glass, some wires slowly fell apart as XarXar severed them with its mind.

Sammy bit her lip. "Now, we need to break this window. But, if we smash it, someone inside will hear it. Anyone got any ideas?"

Erik grinned, and held up another pokeball. "Yep. Blaze, use Heat Wave. Stand back everyone, things could start to warm up a bit."

Blaze started to give off massive waves of heat. The window didn't stand a chance, and melted instantly. Not for the first time, Jaden marvelled at its strength.

"Great work, Blaze, return."

As Blaze retreated into its ball, Jaden and Sammy climbed through the hole where the window used to be, Erik soon following. They found themselves in a long, dark hallway, only slightly lit by lights every 20 metres.

"Merlin, use Flash!"

A bright orb of glowing, yellow energy appeared, almost like a miniature sun floating near the ceiling. Sammy's eyes bulged, and she almost screamed at Jaden.

"Put it out, you idiot! That's like a beacon to everyone that we're here!"

Jaden realised his mistake, and recalled Merlin. A tiny smile reached Sammy as she saw the surprised look on Jaden's face. Erik broke the silence with a sharp order.

"Come on, come on, we don't have all night! Let's get going."

The trio walked down the hallway, peeking into the doorways that lined the right side of the hall. Every now and then they had to hide as a scientist walked by. After a while, they emerged into a giant circular room, with doors all around. Desks with computers on them lined the walls. In the middle of the room was a bunch of people, luckily all facing the other way. Erik whispered a quick warning to the others.

"We can't wait here; we'll be seen by them. We'll have to go back and find another way around."

"Too late," Jaden replied, as he heard footsteps in the corridor behind them. "Quick, hide under one of these desks."

They all rushed for one of the desks, just as two people walked into the room. Sammy's eyebrows shot up as she recognised them.

"Jaden, those two guys are the ones that tried to kidnap us by the lake! Remember?"

Jaden flashed back to when he caught Jaws, how immediately afterwards two Epsilon members had tried to capture the two youths. Coming back to the present, he also saw that they were the same two men. He gasped. Erik was furious.

"Shut up. Gasp in your own time, we need to get out of here! What should we do?"

Sammy narrowed her eyes. "Let's follow those two goons. See where they go, it's sure to be the centre of operations."

They watched as the two Epsilon members walked into a doorway on the other side of the room. The group of scientists in the middle of the room, however, didn't move. Sammy cursed.

"We'll lose them if we don't move soon. Come on."

She stood up, calling to the scientists.

"Ok! Everyone quiet! Anyone who moves will unfortunately have to be tied up."

The men were obviously not trainers. Most of them put their hands in the air, waiting for a command from Sammy.

"Alright," said Erik loudly. "We want you all to stand over there. And if anyone tries to escape, bad luck for everybody. Now, who can tell me what the hell is going on in this place?"

One of the men was braver than the rest. He was also the only one with a pokemon.

"We are not intimidated by thugs!" he yelled. "Go Venonat!"

Jaden scowled, as the oversized bug pokemon appeared. "The only thugs around here are the guys who just walked through that door. Do you know who they are?"

The man shifted nervously. "No. We were just told that they were allowed in here, with top security clearance. We're just people who applied for a job here. We're no criminals."

"Well, I've got some news for ya. This is a criminal base! Team Epsilon runs the show here. Now, tell us where to go from here."

The scientist was happy to oblige. "Go through that door, then through the door at the end. We're not allowed to go in there, but I think it goes underground."

Jaden nodded. "Thanks."

The three young trainers dashed to the door. After they left, the man smiled. _They'll never beat the boss, _he thought to himself.

Sammy opened the door at the end of the corridor that the man had pointed them through. A staircase going down was in front of them. After running down it, they found themselves in a huge room. Everywhere, lights flashed on pieces of machinery, and on the other side of the room were four people. Jaden recognised two as the bozos by the lake. Another was a tall man dressed extravagantly in bright purple clothes, with frills and lace everywhere.

The last person was tied to a chair, her head down. She looked exhausted, and was obviously a prisoner of Team Epsilon. As the trainers ran in, she looked up, and Jaden cried out as he saw her face.

"Shadess!" he exclaimed.

The Epsilons looked up as Jaden called out. One of the men recoiled.

"It's them! It's the children from the lake! General Alpha, you have to believe me!"

The man in the purple clothes looked interested. "I believe you, Ned, I'm quite convinced. They look very strong."

Ned nodded. His partner spoke.

"That other boy, the one on the right, he wasn't there. It was just the other two."

"Oh, I know, Kelly. That one only showed up today, I saw him on the surveillance cameras," Alpha said, flashing a brilliant white smile at them. "Anyway, regardless of when they appeared, you can get them now."

Ned appeared flustered. "But they are far too strong for us. We got whipped last time."

Alpha wasn't fazed in the slightest. "I don't care, my servant. Just battle them! I want to see first-hand just how good they really are."

Sammy grew angry. "If we win, you hand over Shadess!" she yelled.

Alpha laughed shrilly. "Oh no, no, no, my dear. If you win, you win the absolutely spectacular prize of battling me. Isn't that just splendid? Anyway, on with the battle. Off you go then, hurry up."

"Fine!" shouted Jaden. "We'll just have to beat you as well. Go, Sonyk!"

He looked to Sammy. She had sent out Fang. Ned and Kelly sent out Misdreavus and Nuzleaf.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Force Palm!"

Misdreavus fainted on the spot when the Shadow Ball hit it, hitting the ground with a thud. At the same time, Nuzleaf got blasted across the room by Sonyk's Force Palm.

Sonyk laughed. "_Owned," _it said.

Alpha's eyes were like golf balls.

"Wow! You are so strong for mere children! Of course, I'm stronger, since I'm a grown-up, and your just little kiddies."

Erik shook his head with contempt. "We're not babies, you know. A three-year-old could beat those two idiots." He pointed at Ned and Kelly.

Kelly bristled in rage. "You take that back, scum!"

Jaden smirked. "We're scum? But we just beat you, so you have to be even worse." He tutted. "Worse than scum. Wow, you guys are really low."

Sonyk grinned. _"Would you like some ice with that burn?"_

Alpha frowned. These kids were getting to be a bit of a handful.

"Now you must beat me. No negotiations. I'm afraid I'll be sending your remains home to your Mothers pretty soon."

Sonyk sneered. "_Your Mother sucks bal-!"_

"That's enough now, Sonyk," Jaden cut in.

Alpha pulled a pokeball from his massive red and green belt. Throwing it high in the air, he yelled to the heavens.

"Come on out, my pretty!"

The white light eventually faded to reveal a massive hulking dragon. Jaden caught his breath.

"It's a Salamence! They're really tough!"

Alpha laughed insanely. "I know. And now it's about to kick your pretty pink butts!"

* * *

Can Jaden, Sammy and Erik defeat Alpha's Salamence and save Shadess? Find out soon!

Once again, I'm sorry about the long wait, but don't worry, it's finally here.

Also, I'm accepting one OC, to be a rival of Jaden's.

See you soon, and don't forget to review!


	14. Draco Destruction

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hey guys, I'm back! It's been a long week, but it's finally Friday night, so it's time for an update.

Last time, Jaden, Sammy and Erik infiltrated a secret Team Epsilon base, and managed to navigate their way to the main control room. Inside, they found a kidnapped Shadess, along with Ned and Kelly, the men from the lake. Also in the room was an Epsilon Admin, Alpha. After Ned and Kelly were easily defeated, Alpha brought out his pokemon, a Salamence! Now, the trio of trainers have to fight the massive dragon pokemon, for Shadess' freedom, and their own!

* * *

The Absolutely Fabulous Fray!

"Marvellous! This is gonna be a stupendous clash! I simply can't wait. So let's get started, shall we? Salamence, use Dragon Rage!"

Jaden acted quickly. "Sonyk, dodge it!"

Sonyk leaped into the air, flying high over the whirlwind of purple fire that was launched from Salamence's mouth. After landing, it struck Salamence in the face with its paw. Alpha laughed shrilly.

"Impressive! Let's see if your companions are as good. Salamence, Outrage!"

This time it was Sammy who called out to her pokemon to dodge. Fang quickly ducked under the lumbering behemoth as it rampaged towards it, biting the dragon's soft underside as it flew over. Salamence roared in pain, and fell to the ground, cracking the rock-hard floor as it landed. Erik reached for a pokeball.

"Time to finish this off! Pilomino, use Ice Beam!"

As the hairy swine pokemon exited its pokeball, it opened its mouth, and a giant ray of ice erupted out, freezing Salamence solid.

"Yeah, we did it!" cried Jaden, giving Sammy a high five.

Erik frowned. "I don't think so. Something tells me that this guy should be a bit stronger than being eliminated by one Ice Beam."

"You beat Gamma's Aggron with a single Blaze Kick," pointed out Jaden.

"Yeah, but Gamma only got that recently, so it was relatively young. Alpha here's had Salamence for years." replied Erik.

Jaden was surprised. "How do you know that?"

Erik hesitated. "I've had...past dealings with them."

Alpha was listening to the conversation. With Erik's last comment, he started violently, pointing at Erik wildly.

"Oh my goodness! Now I remember you, you nasty little brat! You used to hang around with that other lad. The unbelievably, astoundingly powerful lad. You two might have messed up our plans last time, but this time your friend isn't here to save you! Salamence, use your ultimate attack! Use it now! Use Draco Meteor!"

Jaden gasped as the figure encased in ice started to glow. Suddenly, they could hear men upstairs shouting, and loud explosions that shook the foundations of the building. Kelly looked at Alpha in horror.

"Master, what's happening?"

Alpha laughed insanely, quite different to the high-pitched noise he had made before. "Prepare to bear witness to my Salamence's most powerful attack! Now, Salamence, bury our enemies under the mystical creations of the dragons!"

With an ear-splitting crash, the roof collapsed as hundreds of meteors hurled into the room, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Sonyk, Fang and Pilomino were all hit, fainting instantly. The trainers called them back as they tried to dodge the purple and green rocks demolishing the floor around them. Meteors hit the computers, blowing them up as sparks flew everywhere. The ice surrounding Salamence was shattered as the dragon released a Hyper Beam from inside its freezing prison.

With a deafening roar it trudged towards the three youths, destroying any meteors that came near it. Over the crashing noises, Jaden could hear Ned and Kelly screaming in terror as they dodged the fireballs around them. Dimly, he noticed that he could hear another sound. A voice shouting through the din.

"Infernape! Repel the meteors with your Mach Punch!"

Suddenly the crashing stopped. Jaden opened his eyes to see a red and white blur zooming around the room, bouncing off the walls, hitting every meteor that fell with a flaming fist. The voice yelled out again.

"Now, Floatzel, stop the Salamence with Sonicboom!"

Shock waves burst out of nowhere, striking Salamence again and again, knocking it one way, then the other. The meteors stopped falling, and Jaden looked around. Sammy and Erik were both were ok. Shadess, tied to a chair the entire time, looked terrified, but didn't seem to be hurt. Unfortunately, the three Epsilons were all fine as well, though Ned and Kelly both looked even more frightened than Shadess. But it wasn't any of them that caught Jaden's eye. It was the 16 year old boy standing near the stairs that drew his complete and utter attention. And it wasn't just Jaden. Every eye in the room was on him. Erik was beaming, his face shining.

"Hello, Alpha. Still up to your old tricks?" the boy asked quietly.

Alpha was outraged. "How dare you defy me again, you insolent little child!" he screamed. The boy smiled.

"Temper, temper."

"That's him! That's my trainer, the one who taught me how to raise pokemon. It's Cole!" Erik whispered into Jaden's ear. "He always shows up when trouble brews, always ready to fight any one who threatens the peace in pokemon. No worries, Cole will get us out of here!"

"You've annoyed me for the last time! Salamence, destroy him with Dragon Breath!"

Salamence threw back its head, and then thrust it forwards as it breathed out an intense stream of green fire, aimed directly at Cole. He just stood there, and let the flames engulf him. Erik cried out in shock and horror as his mentor and friend was swallowed up by the hungry, green fire. The flames stopped, and Jaden gasped as the smoke cleared to reveal Cole still standing, without a mark on him.

"Impossible! How did you survive a direct hit from my Salamence? You should be dead!" Alpha spat, refusing to believe it. Cole smiled, and held up a pokeball.

"I simply used my Raichu to create and electrical field around myself, nullifying the power of your Dragon Breath. Face it, Alpha, you can't win against me!"

Alpha smiled evilly. "Who says I can't?" He turned around and pressed a big red button on the wall. An electronic voice rang out, echoing throughout the room.

"_Self-destruct sequence initiated. Team Epsilon base exploding in 60...59...58..."_

"Salamence, return," said Alpha, and the massive dragon was converted into red light, which was then sucked into its pokeball. "Now, go Mr Mime! Teleport us out of here!"

A humanoid pokemon appeared, waving its arms in the air, and Alpha, Ned and Kelly suddenly vanished, along with the Mr Mime.

"What do we do?" cried Sammy, as the electronic voice reached 30. Jaden ran over to Shadess, and he quickly untied her.

"We'll follow Alpha's example. Merlin, use Teleport!"

Merlin materialised out of its pokeball, and with a bright flash, the five trainers were warped out of the doomed Epsilon base just as the counter reached 0.

Jaden, Sammy, Erik, Cole and Shadess thudded onto the grass outside Daskon City, and Jaden stood up just in time to see a massive explosion light up the night sky. Many screams and yells reached their ears as people in the city heard the explosion. Coming to his senses, Jaden turned to make sure everyone was ok. To his surprise, Cole was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" he asked Erik, who shook his head in relief and amusement.

"That's just like Cole. Turn up, save the day, and then disappear before anyone gets a good look at you. He's never been one for publicity."

Jaden shook his head as well. "He's a fantastic trainer. His Infernape stopped all those meteors, no problem."

Erik looked troubled. "Perhaps I should tell you about when me and Cole stopped Epsilon last year."

Jaden gasped. "_You_ stopped Epsilon?"

Erik blushed. "Well, not really me. I just tagged along, while Cole did all the hard work. Anyway, back to the story. Cole had heard about a new criminal organization that had risen up, and within six months, had located there top-secret base. With me coming along for the ride, he broke in, annihilated all four Admins, and then beat the leader in a one-on-one competition. It was a tough battle, but he managed it in the end. Unfortunately, the big boss pulled the same trick that Alpha just did then, and while Cole was getting us both out alive, all the bad guys escaped."

Sammy was listening in. "So all the Admins got away?"

Erik nodded. "Yep. And the leader. Also, since then, Epsilon has been training non-stop so that they could beat Cole, and they've gotten a lot stronger than he is, because they don't care if they injure their pokemon during training, as long as they get stronger. Anyway," he said, bringing himself back to the present, "we should get to the Pokemon Centre quickly, and heal out pokemon. Also, Shadess needs medical attention."

"I'm fine," Shadess mumbled.

"You don't look it," retaliated Sammy, and she was right. Shadess looked as if she had just been hit by a train. There were cuts and bruises all over her, and to top it all off, she hadn't eaten in days.

"Come on," said Jaden. "Let's get going."

* * *

I have only two words for this: Disappointing Chapter. This didn't turn out the way nearly the way I wanted it to. Originally, Jaden, Sammy and Erik would have managed to beat Alpha by themselves, and would be saved from the explosion by Cole. Instead, it just twisted itself into however this turned out. At least I managed to cover some back-story though.

As I mentioned last chapter, I'm on the lookout for an OC to be Jaden's rival. Feel free to PM me with your ideas.

Once again, sorry about the poor chapter quality, I'm very tired as I write this, so my head just morphs the story into whatever takes my fancy at the time. I'll try and start writing a little earlier next time, so I'm not half-asleep while I type.

I'll probably get another chapter of Yugimon: Tournament of Legends up tomorrow, plus I've had an idea for a unique new series, which is almost the opposite of Yugimon (it's still a Yu-Gi-Oh/Pokemon crossover though).


	15. The Battle Festival

Pokemon

Aura Adventure

Hi guys, I'm back with a brand new chapter. Only four weeks till the holidays, and then I can update all the time, for a week, and then back to school. Oh well.

Last time, Jaden, Erik and Sammy faced off against Alpha, a Team Epsilon Admin, and were losing badly until Erik's former trainer, Cole, showed up and rescued them. Just before the base self-destructed, Jaden used Merlin to teleport himself, Sammy, Erik, Cole and Shadess out of the doomed base.

* * *

"_Two scientists died in the explosion, and several more were rushed to hospital. According to reports, the newly constructed science lab was being used as a base for Team Epsilon, a criminal organisation in Bronko. Any information regarding the explosion would be a big help for the official police investigation."_

Jaden sighed. The events of the night before were still primary thoughts in his head, and watching the news report of the incident only made it worse. After washing his face in an attempt to wash away the memories, he headed downstairs. In the elevator, he ran into Sammy.

"Hi Jaden! Feeling ok?"

Jaden shrugged. "Not too bad. You?"

She shrugged as well. "Dunno. I feel glad that we weeded out Team Epsilon, but I feel really guilty about the explosion, what with the people dying and all."

The elevator arrived at the ground floor, and the two of them got out. Looking around at the huge foyer of the Pokemon Centre, Jaden reflected on how many people and pokemon relied on places like this for help, and flashed back to the night before.

After teleporting out of the destroyed building the night before, Jaden, Sammy and Erik had rushed to the Centre as quickly as they could, supporting Shadess between the three of them. As soon as Nurse Joy got over goggling at the injured adolescents standing before her, she had pressed a big, red button on the desk. Instantly, about twenty Chanseys had appeared out of doors lining the walls, and ushered them to the emergency room. After insisting that they were fine, Jaden, Sammy and Erik had been taken down to the Police Station by Officer Jenny, while Shadess and their pokemon were attended to by the parade of Chanseys.

At the Station, they had been asked about every question you could think of related to what had happened at the lab. After two hours of questioning, they had been taken back to the Pokemon Centre to get looked at. After much poking and prodding by the nurse pokemon, the three trainers had finally been allowed to rest.

And now, Jaden was feeling down. It seemed to him like they had accomplished nothing, although they had managed to rescue Shadess, who had been like an older sister to him while he had been in Cleardawn Town, training him, and correcting his mistakes. He looked at Sammy, also like a good friend. He realised he was staring, and quickly averted his gaze. Looking around, he saw a poster on the wall.

"Hey, wassat?"

Sammy looked at him. "What's what?"

He pointed. "That's what. That poster."

The poster was brightly coloured, and had a picture of a clown on it. Written in big letters across the top were the words "Battle Festival". Jaden was thrilled.

"Awesome, a carnival!"

Sammy looked happy as well. "Of course! I forgot about Battle Festival. Around this time of year, all over Bronko, every town has a massive party celebrating a legendary event from hundreds of years ago. An evil tyrant was terrorising Bronko, but a person known as the Legendary Trainer rose up and defeated him. Ever since, every year, there's been a carnival all over the country. It's really exciting! There're stalls all over the place, selling loads of merchandise. Also, there are loads of people to battle."

Jaden studied the poster. "They're setting up today, and the carnival starts tomorrow. How long does it last, anyway?"

Sammy laughed. "That's the fun bit. The whole carnival lasts three weeks, three weeks of total fun."

Jaden grinned. "Let's tell Erik. He'll be excited!"

In reality, Erik wasn't that thrilled. While he told Jaden that he didn't really like carnivals that much, it was actually because of a different reason. Erik kept it a secret from most people, but deep down he was terrified of clowns. He had always been really crept out by them, and the fear had escalated when he was eight years old, when a clown threw a cream pie in his face, and then a group of them had crowded around, taunting him and laughing. After that, he tended to stay away from circus tents, and even festivals in general.

After a while, Jaden managed to talk him into joining Jaden and Sammy the next day in roaming the stalls. Nurse Joy insisted in Shadess staying behind, but she was free to go in a week, with plenty of time left for the Battle Festival.

* * *

Jaden looked around in wonder at the stalls around him. People swarmed the streets, chatting, buying merchandise, and occasionally battling. Someone tapped him on the back, and he turned to see a young boy, around ten years old, with a yellow cap on backwards. The boy held up a pokeball.

"Hi! My name's Ryan, and I want to battle you!"

Jaden was a little taken aback at the forward attitude Ryan was showing. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. A battle was a battle.

"Sure. My name's Jaden, by the way. What type of battle do you want?"

Ryan answered immediately. "One-on-one. Whaddya say?"

Jaden smiled. He liked Ryan. "Sure, let's go!"

Ryan threw his pokeball high in the air, and a Butterfree appeared. Jaden retaliated with Sonyk.

"Butterfree, use Stun Spore!" called Ryan.

Jaden grinned. He was aware that a crowd was beginning to gather. "Sonyk, absorb the Stun Spore with your Drain Punch!"

Sonyk's hand glowed green, and it punched into the middle of the golden spores. In a matter of seconds, they had all been sucked up into Sonyk's fist, rendering the Stun Spore useless.

"Now, Sonyk, use Karate Chop!"

Sonyk dashed over to Butterfree and swung a fist at it, but was to slow, and Butterfree flew into the air to dodge it.

"Use Gust!"

Butterfree whirled its wings around and around, blowing up a dust storm, which it directed at Sonyk. The small blue fighter pokemon couldn't react, and was swept up into the small cyclone. Jaden, however, wasn't fussed.

"Force Palm."

Which a loud bang that made several people jump, the Gust attack was simply blown apart by the energy released from Sonyk, who charged over to Butterfree and knocked it out with a single Karate Chop. As Ryan called back Butterfree, Jaden walked over to him.

"Good battle, Ryan. I enjoyed it."

Ryan looked amazed. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "You're amazing! I've never battled someone so strong before! How did you do it?"

Jaden shrugged. "It's just a lot of training, I guess. And try to never give up."

Ryan nodded, grinning madly, and ran off into the crowd. As Sammy and Erik were congratulating him on his win, he heard a voice calling out to him. Turning around, he saw a stall-owner beckoning to him.

"Hey, kid! Yeah, you! Come 'ere!"

Jaden walked over to the man, wondering what was going on. The guy was pretty large, with wide shoulders and a huge white t-shirt that was still too small for him.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" he asked cautiously, aware that the man could crush him in a single fist. The hulking figure laughed.

"Don't worry, kid, I'm not gonna eat ya, I'm just telling you that you've got pretty damn good battling skills. You should enter the Titanium Cup."

Jaden was confused. "What's that?"

The man stepped back, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "You don't know? It's the most anticipated event in the entire year. At least, it is in Daskon anyway."

Sammy nodded. "People from far and wide flock to see trainers compete in it. Every year, during Battle Festival, Daskon City holds a pokemon tournament, in honour of the Legendary Trainer. I think you should enter as well. I might too, come to think of it. What about you, Erik?"

Erik shook his head. "I'm declining on this one. I'm sticking to gym battles, I'll worry about the tournaments later."

Jaden shrugged. "Your loss, then." Turning to the burly man, he asked, "Where can we sign up?"

The man pointed to a huge tent. "That's the Central Command tent. Any official business is handled in there. The name's Paul, by the way."

"I'm Jaden. Anyway, I better head to the tent and sign up. See you later."

Paul nodded. "Yeah, see ya."

Stepping through the tent was like entering the magical tent at the Quidditch World Cup from Harry Potter. It looked totally different on the inside, with desks and even a reception counter. The place even had electrical lights and computers! Jaden walked up to the woman behind the counter.

"Hi, is this where we sign up for the Titanium Cup?" he asked.

She nodded. "Sure is! Just give me your Pokedex's, and I'll enter your name into the computer system. Is it all three of you?"

Erik shook his head. "Nah, just them. I'm sitting this one out."

"Ok then."

Suddenly, Jaden thought of something. "Can we sign someone up, even if they're not here? Because I know someone who might want to enter, but she's recovering at the Pokemon Centre, and Nurse Joy is being really strict about her getting out and about, so she can't come today. Can we enter her now?"

The woman nodded. "Of course you can, I understand. What's her name?"

"Shadess," Sammy answered.

The woman's eyes widened. "Shadess, the Gym Leader? Wow, we're getting some tough competition this year."

Back at the Pokemon Centre, Shadess was delighted to have been entered in the tournament. As she put it, being stuck at the Pokemon Centre 24/7 was getting very boring. They were all excited, even Erik, who would be watching the battles from the sidelines. The tournament started in a week, and they had to prepare.

* * *

Taa-daa! Done. I must say, I'm a lot happier with this chapter than the last one, even though there wasn't much action.

Next time, Jaden, Sammy and Shadess all battle their first opponents in the Titanium Cup, but will they all advance to the next round? Find out next time, on Pokemon: Aura Adventure!

Also, I'm still looking for an OC to be Jaden's rival. Just so you know, if you send in an OC, please set it out as such:

Name

Pokemon

Personality

Likes/Dislikes

Any Additional Information

Anyway, I'll see you next week, but I've got a real good weekend vibe, so I might update tomorrow, or on Sunday (I know I say that a lot, but this time I actually mean it).


	16. Round One Begin!

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys! To quote Jar-Jar Binks, "mesa back"! Sorry I didn't update twice last weekend, even thought I said I would, that weekend vibe sure does pass fast. I didn't feel like writing, and I didn't even get my homework done, so I couldn't update.

Anyway, back to the story. The Battle Festival has started, and Jaden, Sammy and Shadess have all entered the Titanium Cup, a pokemon battling tournament held over the course of the Festival. Who will win the competition? Read on to find out. (And, read the next few chapters after this, when I update, because the Titanium Cup's gonna last about five chapters)

* * *

"So, ladies and gentlemen, the air is positively electric here in Daskon City. Why, you might ask? Well, I'll tell you why, it's because the famous Titanium Cup is being held here right as we speak! Entries closed two days ago, and now the crowd is waiting to hear which two trainers will be pairing off first in one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year! Now, we cut to our correspondent in the Trainers Tent itself! Brenda, what's happening in there?!"

"Well, Trent, tension is high here in the Trainers Tent, because in just ten minutes the first two trainers will be announced, and then they'll fight it out in the giant Titanium Stadium, in the exact centre of Daskon City! Who will it be, I wonder? There have been rumours that the Gym Leader of Cleardawn Town is competing, but no one knows the exact details. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out, eh Trent?"

"Right you are Brenda. Now, for a surprise for you, folks! Very soon, we'll be interviewing the Battle Commissioner, who has kindly agreed to answer a few of our questions about the Titanium Cup! We'll be right back, after a quick break!"

Jaden took a quick glance out of the Trainer Tent door flap as the screen on the TV lit up with numerous advertisements for various pokemon products, and stepped back in shock. He knew the Titanium Cup was a big event, but he was horrified at the amount of people flocking the area outside the Tent. And he was meant to perform in front of all of them. To make it worse, he caught a glimpse of several TV cameras and knew that they were here to film the event. A laugh reached his ears, and he turned to see Shadess standing behind him, a massive grin on her face.

"Not used to the publicity? Well, you better get used to it. Out there in the stadium, you'll have about a hundred thousand people goggling at you, watching your every move. But don't worry. It's nerve-wracking at first, but you'll get used to it by the time the finals come, and believe me, you need to be as calm and collected as possible when that comes around."

"I can't go out there! With all those people, I'll screw up big time!" flustered Jaden, as he tried to get his head around it. Shadess began to answer, but was cut off by a loudspeaker.

"Will all contestants please gather around me? All contestants, around me!" called out a man in a green suit, standing on a computer desk. The two hundred or so trainers competing clustered together around him, pushing and shoving. Jaden spotted Sammy, and forced his way over to her, Shadess trailing behind him. The man in the green suit spoke through his megaphone again.

"Hello, hello, thanks to all of you for entering this amazing competition. Now, for those of you who don't know the rules, allow me to explain. The computer on the desk below me has an automatic shuffling program, with all of your names stored in its memory. When I hit go, it will randomly choose two of you. The first name called will head through that door over there. The second trainer selected will head through that door over _there_. When in the stadium, you will each select three pokemon, and the battle will commence. Both trainers can switch at any time. If all three of your pokemon are unable to battle, you will lose the match and be eliminated from the tournament. Any questions?"

No one had any, so the man in the green suit jumped down and clicked the mouse. Everyone in the room seemed to lean forward slightly, as the computer flashed through a list of names. Jaden wished it would hurry up, he was feeling ill. Finally, the computer decided.

"The first trainer," the green suit man said, "is Jaden Stevens!"

Jaden's heart sank into his stomach as he heard that he was the very first trainer to be picked. Gulping, he headed to the door that the man had indicated. On the other side was a long corridor, with another door at the end. Almost choking in fear, he began walking, wondering if they made the hall so long just for the fun of it.

When he finally opened the door at the other end, he was met with a massive wall of sound, as the sounds of the crowd reached him. Reluctantly walking forward, he shuffled into the biggest stadium he had ever seen. Almost fainting on the spot, he looked around and struggled to take in the sheer amount of spectators on the crowd. Thousands of them, all cheering, waving their hands in the air, and some chanting "Titanium" over and over again.

As he stared around, Jaden realised that he was enjoying the attention, and even lifted a hand in the air, waving to the crowd. When they saw him, they let out a deafening cheer, and Jaden couldn't help but grin wildly. He quickly walked to the box drawn on the ground, where the trainer stood, and saw his opponent on the other side of the massive stadium. On the side of the arena, a man stood with a microphone, also waving to the crowd.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let the first match of the Titanium Cup begin. In the red corner, we have Jaden Stevens. And, facing Jaden in the blue corner, we have Jason Hucks! Let the battle begin!"

Jason made the first move. "Alright Jaden, let's see if you can beat this! I choose you, Weepinbell!"

A leafy pokemon shaped like a bell appeared, and started dancing around. The crowd laughed at the Weepinbell's antics. Jaden thought for a second, then sent out his Houndour, Flare.

"Flare, use Fire Fang!" called Jaden.

Flare's teeth glowed bright red, and it hurled itself through the air at Weepinbell. Jason was fast though, and directed Weepinbell to use Vine Whip. The Weepinbell caught Flare in midair, and flung it to the ground. Flare stood up, just in time to dodge a Razor Leaf. Jaden thought quickly, and ordered Flare to use Ember. The flames caught Weepinbell full in the face, and it made an awful high-pitched screeching noise. A fine dust flew off it, and drifted over to Flare. The fire dog's eyes drooped, and it fell to the ground fast asleep. Jaden cursed as he recognised Sleep Powder.

"Flare, come back. Now, go Merlin!"

Merlin flew from the pokeball, and quickly used Confusion on the Weepinbell. As it screeched again, Merlin toppled it with a single Fire Punch. The referee flung a hand over to Jaden's side of the field.

"Weepinbell is unable to battle. Jaden wins the first round!"

For the first time, Jaden noticed a scoreboard high in the stands. He saw pictures of Flare and Merlin on his side of the board, and a blacked out silhouette of Weepinbell on Jason's side. Turning back to the game, he saw Jason sending out a Flaaffy. This electric pokemon looked a lot like a sheep, and it attacked as Jason's voice called out.

"Flaaffy, use Thunderbolt!"

Flaaffy sparked, and then shot a huge lightning bolt at Merlin.

"Use Protect!" cried out Jaden.

Merlin concentrated, and a blue force-field shot up around it. The Thunderbolt bounced off, hitting the unfortunate commentator, who fell to the ground with a thud. Jaden only glanced at the charred figure, before turning back to the battle.

"Merlin, Hidden Power!"

Merlin waved its arms in the air, and loads of glowing balls appeared around it. With a cry of "Ka", it thrust its arms out, and the balls were hurled at Flaaffy, but were knocked back by its Discharge. Jaden grimaced, and recalled Merlin, then sent out Flare again. By now, he dog had woken up, and leapt into battle with a growl.

Now, Flare, use Smog!"

Flare belched, and a purple gas cloud flowed out of its mouth at Flaaffy, who started coughing, and then collapsed on the ground. To Jaden's dismay, however, it got back up, and gave Flare a shock with Thundershock. Jason called out to his pokemon.

"Flaaffy, slow it down with Cotton Spore!"

The Flaaffy started pulling wool off its own body, but more just grew back straight away. Tying the wool into a lasso, it roped in Flare and in a few seconds Flare could barely move, due to the wool sticking to its body. Jaden just smiled.

"How foolish. Flare, just burn it off with Ember."

Flare blew a few small flames onto the wool, and was free within seconds. It tried another Smog, and once again Flaaffy bent over double, coughing and hacking all over the ground. Jason called out to it.

"You can do it, Flaaffy! Brave through the Smog!"

Soon, the choking substance failed, and Jason gave Flaaffy the final orders.

"Now! Finish it off with Thunder!"

Dark clouds covered the open roof of the stadium, and sparks started flying. Just before it could unleash the attack, though, Flaaffy keeled over, unconscious. Jason was startled.

"What, what's going on? What happened to Flaaffy?"

Jaden grinned. "It was poisoned by the double Smog."

Jason cursed. Withdrawing Flaaffy, he sent out a giant bull pokemon with three tails.

"Tauros, use Take Down!"

Tauros lowered its head and charged down Flare, who fainted at the impact. Calling it back, Jaden sent out Jaws, the red Gyarados. Jason was stunned.

"That thing's huge. And it's red! Where did you get that?"

Jaden smiled. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out. Jaws, use Water Pulse!"

Jaws' huge mouth opened wider, and an orb of water burst out, knocking Tauros to the ground. Climbing back to its feet, it lunged at Jaws and used Horn Attack, causing the giant serpent considerable pain. In retaliation, Jaws twisted around Tauros and started squeezing, crushing the bull in its grasp. Finally, it let go, and finished the Tauros off with a colossal Hyper Beam.

As Tauros fell to its knees, the crowd went wild, screaming and cheering for Jaden. On the giant scoreboard, the picture of Tauros blacked out, and winner flashed up next to Jaden's name. The referee ran up and lifted Jaden's arm into the air, while the crowd went absolutely nuts. As Jaden looked around, he grinned, and gave an almighty war-cry.

When Jaden arrived back at the Trainers Tent, he was smothered in a giant hug by Sammy, who had seen the match on the TV right there in the tent. Because she was a competitor, she hadn't been allowed to sit in the stands. Behind Sammy stood Shadess, who congratulated Jaden on his victory, as well as the fact that he had kept his cool in front of the crowd. Suddenly, it went quiet, and Jaden saw the man in the green suit standing by the computer, as it flashed up with the next pair of names. To Jaden's relief, it wasn't any of the three, so he sat down and listened to Sammy gibbering about his battle. In reality, he wasn't really listening, but was remembering the thrilling moment when he had won, and kept replaying it in his mind.

* * *

Ok, I'm not too happy about this chapter, it wasn't the best I've ever done, but it wasn't the worst either.

Next time, Sammy and Shadess both start they're matches against their first opponents. Will they win, or will they be knocked out of the tournament straight away?

Keep the rival OC's coming. I've already got a few, but the rival isn't going to be introduced for about five chapters, so there's plenty of time.


	17. Sammy and Shadess: The Battle Begins!

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hiya guys! Sorry about not updating last week, I've had a lot of assignments due lately. Luckily, this is my last week until the holidays, and it's only three days long. So, I'll probably have another chapter up by Thursday morning. I'll try and update as much as possible over the holidays, and go back to weekly when school starts again.

Anyway, on with the story. Last time, Jaden won his first match against Jason, and thus moved to the next round. Now it's time for Sammy and Shadess to have a go at winning the legendary Titanium Cup. Will they succeed? Who knows? I do!

* * *

Sammy and Shadess – The Battle Begins

Sammy grinned as she stared across at her opponent, ready to command XarXar when the next pokemon was sent out. Soon after Jaden has defeated his first opponent, she had been selected to face a girl named Alexandra, who had long, brown hair down to her waist. The 19-year old smiled at Sammy now, showing brilliant white teeth. Sammy was confused, wondering while Alexandra was so relaxed about losing. Alexandra's Girafarig had quickly fallen to Fang, and XarXar had defeated her Heracross not long after. Now, Sammy was waiting for Alexandra to release her third, and final, pokemon.

"Are you gonna choose anytime soon, Alexandra?" Sammy called.

Alexandra tossed her hair over her shoulder as she laughed. "I told you, call me Alex. And I have chosen, I'm just raising suspense for the crowd. Everybody loves a good battle, and I'm going to give them one!"

Sammy was annoyed. "Well hurry up, the crowd doesn't like to wait."

Alex nodded. "You're right. A fast game's a good game. Now, you might have three pokemon left, but my final choice will well make for my handicap. I choose you, Sandslash!"

As the pokeball arced through the air, Sammy recalled a past experience when she had battled a Sandslash. She had to use the same tactics now.

"XarXar, fly up high in the air, and then use Peck!" she called, after Sandslash had emerged. XarXar flapped its wings, and then swooped down on Sandslash, its beak growing to twice its usual length. Sandslash stood still as XarXar plunged towards it. Likewise, Alex didn't give any commands until the last second, when it was too late for XarXar to dodge.

"Sandslash, catch its beak in your claws!"

Sammy gasped as XarXar was stopped in its tracks, trapped between Sandslash's massive talons. Alex grinned.

"Crush Claw!"

XarXar screeched loudly as Sandslash's claw smashed into its face, before going cross-eyed and fainting. Marvelling at Sandslash's speed and strength, Sammy called the small bird back.

"You did well, XarXar." Sammy looked up at Alex. "Now, it's time for me to win. Go, Fang!"

Fang howled as it was released from its pokeball. This time, it was Alex who gave the first command.

"Use Sand Attack," she called. Sammy looked on in shock as sand started pouring from the tips of the spikes on Sandslash's back. Quickly turning so that its back was to Fang, Sandslash dug at the dirt, sending it flying between its legs, and straight into Fang's eyes. Fang backed away with a squeal, and started pawing at its eyes, struggling to get the dirt out.

"Don't give in! You can do it, Fang. Show them your Howl technique," cried Sammy, and Fang reared back its head. The crowd stuffed their fingers in their ears, as Fang gave a blood-curdling bay, sending Sandslash keeling over onto the ground, writhing in pain at the awful sound. Fang took advantage of the situation to rub the last of the dirt out of its eyes.

"Now, use Take-Down!"

Fang leaned back on its haunches, and then flung itself at Sandslash, gaining speed as it lowered its head. With one final bound, Fang launched towards its foe, when suddenly-

"Sandslash, defend with Rollout!"

In an instant, the desert mouse rolled itself into a spiky ball, then spun at Fang, knocking the dog out of its charge. Sammy cursed as Fang was pounded over and over again by the rotating rodent, and then finally, it was over. Sandslash whirled to a halt a short distance from Fang, who was lying on the ground whining in pain. Sammy held up Fang's pokeball.

"Come on, Fang, have a nice long rest, you've battled enough today."

She started in surprise as Fang slowly got to its feet, shaking its head at the ball. With a final roar, Fang jumped into battle, swiping and biting at Sandslash, who fell back beneath the onslaught. Sammy watched in pride as Fang refused to give up, while Alex watched in horror at Fang's determination to ride the battle to the finish.

Finally, when Fang fell over, exhausted, Sandslash got painfully to its feet and watched Sammy recall the black dog. Sandslash was a proud pokemon, but also an honourable one, and it recognised the backbone that Fang had shown in its assault. Sandslash knew that Fang had plenty of grit, and respected its effort to please its master. Looking up, it saw that Sammy was just about to release her final pokemon.

* * *

Back in the Trainers Tent, Jaden tilted his head to one side when he saw Sammy's Krabby. Thinking aloud, he turned to Shadess.

"How did she get that? I thought that it was at Professor Palm's lab. That's where she told me it was."

Shadess looked at him like he was an idiot. "The Professor probably sent it over the Ball Transfer System. Didn't you ever wonder how you get a pokemon out of storage? We say that they're in our PC, but they actually get transferred via pokeball to Palm's lab. He has a big warehouse where he holds everyone's pokemon in pokeballs."

"Oh," said Jaden, as he turned back to the big screen where the battle being shown.

* * *

"Now Sandslash, start things off with a Fury Swipes!" shouted Alex, and the wounded Sandslash dashed into battle against Krabby. Sammy smiled.

"Pincer, use Harden."

Pincer glowed white, and Sandslash's claws simply bounced off. Alex grimaced.

"Use Crush Claw again!" she called.

Once again, Sandslash attempted to hit Pincer, but to no avail. Sammy smiled, then gave her commands.

"Pincer, Vice-lock!"

Pincer grabbed hold of Sandslash with one of its massive nippers. Sandslash spun in circles, but Pincer wouldn't let go. Alex thought for a second.

"Sandslash, Rapid Spin, and then Swift."

Sandslash spun around in an instant, its speed catching Pincer off guard, who let go. Then, Sandslash turned and fired several gold stars at Pincer from point-blank range. Pincer scuttled away in pain, making an odd suckling sound. It turned towards Sandslash and narrowed its huge bulging eyes.

"Finish it off with BubbleBeam!" cried Sammy, and Pincer opened both of its claws, and its mouth. A stream of giant bubbles poured from all three holes and struck Sandslash across the face, exploding on contact. Sandslash swayed, and then fell to the ground, unconscious. The referee gestured at Sammy, and spoke into a microphone.

"Sandslash is unable to battle! Samantha Palm wins!"

Sammy looked around in wonder as the crowd exploded in cheers. Professor Palm was well-known, and Sammy had well lived up to their expectations. She became aware that Alex was walking towards her holding out her hand. Sammy smiled and shook it.

"You did really well. Your Sandslash is very strong!"

Alex smiled. "Thanks. Your pokemon are amazing as well. You deserve to go on to the next round, so good luck."

Sammy nodded gratefully. After saying goodbye, she turned and walked back out of the stadium to the Trainers Tent. Waiting at the entrance were Jaden, Shadess and Erik. Grinning madly, she ran towards them.

* * *

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we present the famous Gym Leader of Cleardawn Town, Shadess!"

Shadess walked into the stadium, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. Unlike Jaden or Sammy, she was well accustomed to attention and cameras. Looking across to the other end of the arena, she saw her opponent, Bruce. Pulling out her first pokeball, she hurled it into the air and released Umbreon into the battle.

Bruce fell to his knees as his Armaldo was defeated by Absol. Umbreon had easily defeated Mothim and Chatot, but Armaldo had finally ended Umbreon's winning streak. Unfortunately for Bruce, Absol was a good deal stronger than Umbreon, and had floored Armaldo within a minute.

* * *

Back in the Trainers Tent, Jaden and Sammy were both talking about Shadess' stunning victory when the Gym Leader herself walked into the room. Both youths rushed over to her.

"You were amazing! Were you holding back when he battled?" asked Jaden, and Shadess shook her head.

"No, I gave it everything I had in our battle. The only reason I looked really strong there was because he was nowhere near as powerful as the trainers you two faced. I got an easy round this time, but it will be harder from now on. We had best prepare."

And with that, the three of them turned to watch the next battle.

* * *

So it is done. Sorry that I skipped the battle between Shadess and Bruce, I just couldn't stand writing another full battle, just after Sammy had one. So, I just decided to make Bruce really weak, so that I wouldn't have to write for another whole fight. Because of this, the chapter is pretty short.

Anyway, they're only two more Titanium Cup chapters left to go! Keep the rival OC's rolling in, as well as the reviews. Perhaps I forgot to mention it, but I'd prefer the rival to be female. Luckily, all the ones I've received so far have, by chance, been girls.

By the next chapter, Jaden, Sammy and Shadess have all made it to the quarter-finals. Sammy goes up against a mysterious trainer in a mask. Will she win? After that match, Jaden battles Shadess in a battle between friends. Who will win, and what is Shadess' third pokemon? Who of the four will advance to the Grand Final? Find out in the next exciting episode of Pokemon: Aura Adventure!


	18. Sammy and the SemiFinal

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys, sorry about the wait! I've been planning a lot, but I haven't got around to writing a chapter until now. As you probably know, Jaden Sammy and Shadess have entered the Titanium Cup, and are battling it out to get to the finals. Since the tournament takes place over two weeks, I couldn't write all the rounds, so I've skipped forwards to the semi-finals. Have they all made it through? Find out, in the next couple of seconds!

* * *

Sammy and the Semi-Final

"LAAAAAAAAAADIIIIEEEEESSSS AND GEEENTLEMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN! Welcome to the semi-finals of the famous Titanium Cup! After a gruelling week, four outstanding trainers have fought and battled their way to this extraordinary position. So, without further ado, give a cheer for the Titanium Finalists!"

The crowd opened fire with a massive roar that deafened Jaden's ears. The announcer lifted his arm into the air, and began the introductions.

"First, we have the stunning daughter of the renowned Professor of Bronko! Her name, you might ask? Well, let's hear it for Samantha Palm!"

The crowd cheered again, and Sammy punched the air, a massive grin on her face. Over the last week, she had grown used to the attention of the crowd. The announcer continued.

"Sammy has come all the way from Huckleberry Town, and during her life has won two Gym Battles! Can she live up to our expectations? Let's find out soon! But Sammy didn't achieve all of this all on her own. Accompanying her on her adventure was another aspiring young trainer, who also happens to be a finalist. Give it up for Jaden Stevens!"

Jaden thrust his arm into the air. Like Sammy, he had grown accustomed to the screams and yells of the crowd, and loved being known by everyone. It did take a little getting used to, though.

"Jaden has also won a Gym Battle, against the next finalist. May I present to you, the dazzling girl known only as Shadess!"

Shadess, who was used to attention, acknowledged the crowd by giving a loud war-cry, and throwing her arms to the sky. The crowd responded in kind, matching her movements.

"And finally, the last contestant has no connection with the other three. However, he's shown his guts in many brilliant battles. For the last time, give a big cheer for Dr I!"

Jaden, Sammy and shades all glanced at the fourth finalist. This mysterious man had given no details about his past, and wore a mask at all times. No one had seen his face. Many people thought he was burned or disfigured under it, and Jaden had to believe them. Why else would he cover his face?

The crowd seemed a lot less friendly towards Dr I, perhaps because he seemed a lot less friendly to them. When his name was announced, he simply nodded once, his arms folded. The announcer continued.

"Now, allow me to explain the plan for the next week. Tomorrow will be a "rest and preparation day". The four finalists will take the day to take a break from the constant battles, and they must take the chance to let their pokemon recover. Then, two days from now, the Semi-Finals will commence. After the Semi's, another three days will be taken for the Grand Finalists to rest and prepare. And then, the Grand Final! So tell me, who's excited!"

The crowd flattened the massive stadium with an almighty roar. Jaden, Sammy and Shadess grinned. Dr I simply bowed his head.

* * *

"Are you guys ready for tomorrow?" asked Erik, as the four made their way through the crowded markets, filled with people shopping. Jaden nodded.

"I hope so," he said. "You never really know until you get to the fight."

Erik nodded as well. "I know what you mean." He stopped walking. "What's that sound?"

Jaden stopped to, and heard a voice in the distance, calling his name.

"Jaden! JADEN! BEHIND YOU!"

Jaden turned to see a vaguely familiar face running towards him. Then, he recognised the person as Ryan, a young boy he had beaten the day he signed up for the Titanium Cup. He smiled at the kid.

"Hey Ryan, what's happening?"

Ryan's face was flushed with excitement. "Hi Jaden!"

"Ryan!" said another voice, and to Jaden's surprise a huge man hurried up to them. He had a Pikachu riding on his shoulder. Jaden grinned.

"Hi Paul!"

Paul grinned, and pulled Jaden into a huge bear hug. "So, young Jaden. I see you're making a name for yourself. Well done."

Jaden nodded his thanks. "How do you know Ryan?"

Paul guffawed so loudly that heads turned. "Why, Ryan's my son! That's why I noticed you when we met."

Paul had seen Jaden's battle with Ryan, and had then advised him to enter the Titanium Cup. It was because of Paul that Jaden was in the finals.

"Who's this?" asked Shadess. She'd been recovering in the Pokemon Centre when Jaden had battled Ryan. Jaden quickly explained.

"It's good to meet you, Paul, and you, Ryan."

"Well, it's good to meet you too. The famous Shadess, master of Dark pokemon," said Paul. "So, any of you fancy a battle with me and Chuka?"

"If Chuka is your Pikachu, then sure," said Erik. "He held up a pokeball. "How would you like to go up against my Rotom, Zap?"

Paul nodded. "You got yourself a deal."

The group cleared a space, and then Erik sent out Zap. Chuka jumped off Paul's shoulder and faced the sparking ghost.

"Ok, Zap, start this off with Ominous Wind!" shouted Erik.

The air around Zap turned purple , then it flew at Chuka. Chuka moved as fast as lightning, and jumped over the wind as it came.

"Now, Chuka, use Quick Attack!" cried Paul. Chuka charged, moving extremely quickly. As it lunged towards Zap, Erik simply smiled. Paul gasped, as Chuka flew straight through Zap, and out the other side.

"What just happened?" he asked dumbly.

Erik laughed. "Zap is part Ghost. Normal type moves won't hurt it. Zap, strike him down, with Astonish."

Zap disappeared, and came back right behind Chuka. Before it could strike though, Chuka had dashed away. In a split second, the small electric mouse had turned, seen the danger, and gone. Erik cursed.

"Damn, that Pikachu is the fastest thing I've ever seen."

Paul grinned. "Iron Tail, Chuka."

Chuka was next to Zap in an instant, and had smashed it to the ground with a glowing tail. Erik called to Zap, and told it to use Discharge. Zap charged up, then released its load upon Chuka. The electricity overloaded both of them, and they fell to the ground at the same time.

"Wow, your Rotom is strong," said Paul.

"So is Chuka. That Iron Tail did a lot more damage than I thought it would. You're a good trainer, Paul."

Paul chuckled. "You're not too bad yourself. Well, I guess I'll see you all later. I'm sure you need to prepare for the finals."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah, I'll see ya."

* * *

"To choose who battles who, all trainers will draw a card from this deck. The two lowest cards will battle each other, and the two highest likewise. So, contestants, draw your cards!"

Jaden, Sammy, Shadess and Dr I were all standing in a row in front of a table, in the middle of the stadium. On the table sat a single deck of cards. Sammy stepped forward and drew first. Shadess came next, and then Jaden himself. Jaden looked at his card.

_Not too bad,_ he thought. _Of course, it doesn't matter how good the card is, just how high or low it is._

"Now, trainers. State your cards!"

Shadess spoke first. "Nine of Hearts."

Dr I piped up. It was the first time Jaden had heard his voice. It was low, and gravely. "Two of Clubs."

Sammy was next. "Five of Spades."

Jaden came last. "King of Diamonds."

_So I'm battling Shadess. Cool! Of course, I'd prefer to battle Dr I, so I wouldn't have to battle one of my friends. Oh well._

The announcer was speaking again. "Since Sammy and Dr I drew the lowest cards, they will be battling first! Then, it'll be Jaden and Shadess who face off. Sammy, Dr I, please take your places at either end of the arena. Jaden and Sammy, you may go back to the Trainers Tent now. We'll see you later."

Jaden turned and walked out the stadium, with a final wave to the crowd. Shadess was walking next to him.

"So," she said. "We're battling again. It'll be interesting."

"Yeah, it will," Jaden replied. "Make sure you fight your best, though."

Shadess smiled a little. "Oh, I will."

"I just remembered, I still don't know your last pokemon. All the battles before now you've won with only Umbreon and Absol."

Shadess broke into a full smile now. "I think I'll keep that secret. It'll be more fun that way."

Jaden laughed. "You are really secretive, aren't you?"

* * *

As Sammy took her place at her end of the field, she was nervous. She had no idea what her opponent's strategy was. In all his previous battles, he had used only one pokemon, a Bastiodon. That single pokemon had defeated every trainer that it had faced. And now she was going up against it.

"Go, Fang!" she cried, and sent out her faithful hound.

Dr I said nothing, but released a Mawile. The yellow pokemon, with a giant black appendage in the shape of a second mouth with sharp teeth, stared at Fang, and giggled.

"Use Shadow Ball!" commanded Sammy, and Fang directed a large ball of pulsing dark energy shot at Mawile.

"Iron Defence."

The two words came out of Dr I's mouth, and Mawile gleamed as its skin turned as hard as steel. The Shadow Ball barely made a mark, and Mawile retaliated with a Bite. The giant jaws closed around Fang's throat, and started to choke it.

"Quick, Fang, twist out of it!" called Sammy.

Fang growled, and spun around, bringing Mawile flinging through the air with it. Mawile hit the ground hard, and let go of Fang. The giant dog started charging up another Shadow Ball, but stopped when Mawile started crying. Confused, Fang didn't know whether to continue its attack or stop. Before it could decide, however, Mawile gave a sly smile, and its jaws closed on Fang's face.

"Oh no, it used Fake Tears! And now it's using Vicegrip!" Sammy was beginning to panic. In the end she decided to swap out for a different pokemon. Just as she was about to do so, though, Fang collapsed.

"Fang is unable to battle! Mawile wins the first round!" cried the announcer.

_Crap,_ thought Sammy. _What am I going to do?_

"Return, Fang. You did well. And now, Pincer, it's your turn!"

Pincer was sent out, and scuttled around in circles. Finally, it saw Mawile.

"Use Bubble!"

Pincer opened its claws, and a giant stream of bubbles poured from each one. The bubbles struck Mawile, who cringed.

"And now, Crabhammer!"

The crab swung its pincer like a hammer, and it clanged on Mawile's head. Mawile went cross-eyed, and it fainted.

"Return," said Dr I, and Mawile was sucked back into its pokeball. Next, Bastiodon was sent out.

"Take Down."

Bastiodon's large body hurled at Pincer, and it knocked it out in one hit. Sammy called Pincer back.

"Go, Scythe!"

Sammy's Scyther darted out of its ball, and it quickly flew behind Bastiodon.

"Alright, Scythe, start this off with a Slash!"

Scythe cut through the air with one of its arms, and swiped Bastiodon's unprotected back. Bastiodon grunted in pain, and it turned and headbutted Scythe.

"Boogie down with Swords Dance!"

Scythe twisted and whirled, swinging its razor sharp arms around its head. The crowd started clapping in rhythm to the dance, but a sharp voice cut through the sound.

"Rock Slide!" shouted Dr I, and Scythe was forced to stop its dance when Bastiodon shot a load of rocks out of its mouth.

"Air Slash!" said Sammy, and Scythe flew over the rocks towards Bastiodon.

"Iron Defence!" commanded Dr I again. Scythe's attack bounced off, and it was hit by another Rock Slide. The rocks did a lot of damage, and Scythe struggles to get up. It might not attack much, but Bastiodon sure did pack a punch when it did. Just before Scythe got back up, Dr I's voice rang out again.

"Ancient Power!"

The rocks on Bastiodon's body glowed purple, and they floated off and levitated in mid-air. Suddenly, they hummed through the air at Scythe, and knocked it out instantly.

"Scythe is unable to battle! Dr I wins the match, and will proceed to the Grand Final!" screamed the announcer, and the crowd went silent. Dr I didn't seem to care, and he turned and walked out of the arena.

Sammy fell to her knees, defeated. She was out of the tournament, and felt shattered.

_I...lost. I can't believe that I actually...lost, at this stage,_ she thought. _I guess I didn't really expect to win the Grand Final, but it comes as a shock to just be knocked out so easily. He didn't even try! Man, that Dr I is strong!_

Back in the Trainers Tent, Jaden and Sammy looked at each other. It was time.

* * *

Taa-daa! Sorry, Sammy fans, but Dr I beat her fair and square. But who is he? Where did he get such strong pokemon? And who will win, Jaden or Shadess?

I'm still accepting rival OC's but I've had quite a lot, so it'll be hard to choose. I've forgotten to mention, but even if your character isn't chosen as a rival, I'll still fit them into the story somehow. I always love new characters, and I don't want to disappoint anyone, so don't worry. If your OC isn't Jaden's rival, they will still have a significant role in the story later. I'll fit everybody somewhere, not to worry.

Next time, Jaden faces off against his friend and old mentor, Shadess. Can he win? Or will Shadess be the one that advances to the Grand Final? Find out next time, on Pokemon: Aura Adventure. (And don't forget to review!)


	19. Jaden vs Shadess: The SemiFinal Shakeup

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hiya, how's it going? First things first, I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE EXTREME LACK OF UPDATES! Please forgive me *sob*. I know I'm getting very untrustworthy, but I have school work to do, and sometimes I just think "I'll do it later", and then later on it's too late. I'll try ultra hard to update at least weekly from now on.

Anyway, last time, Sammy was defeated easily by Dr I's pokemon, and was knocked out of the tournament. This means that Dr I will be in the Grand Final, facing off against either Jaden or Shadess. But which one will it be? Find out soon!

Also, in the last chapter, Sammy's battle with Dr I was very rushed, and was over quite quickly. I am very sorry for that, it's because I was trying to finish the chapter before I reached my general word limit. Usually when I go over about 2500 words I just start writing random crap so that I can finish the chapter. This time, however, the whole chapter is one battle, with no other sub-plots, like Erik's battle with Paul. That means that it'll be a long battle, instead of a quick, minute-long fight that isn't interesting. So, without further ado, let's start!

* * *

Jaden and Shadess – The Semi-Final Shake-up!

"Sammy, I am so proud of you, no matter what happened. You did extremely well, getting to the semi-finals, and you lost to a very tough opponent. That Dr I is a rascally fellow," said Professor Palm, over the video phone in the Pokemon Centre.

Sammy was surprised. "You know him?"

Palm laughed, nodding. "Yeah, I suppose you could say that. And you know him too, in a way. Give him my regards, me and him go a long way back."

"O-K," said Sammy slowly. "Anyway, I'd better go, Jaden and Shadess are battling in five minutes. See you later, Dad!"

Palm nodded again. "Ok, bye now." He hung up.

As Sammy stood up, she noticed Dr I standing in the corner of the room. She walked over to him.

"Hi," she said. He gave a jerk of the head. Sammy frowned. "Dad asked me to give you his regards," she said, determined to make conversation. Dr I jerked his head again. "He says he knows you," Sammy answered back. This time he spoke.

"That he does."

"How do you know each other?"

"That's personal," he retaliated. Sammy cocked her head.

"Your pokemon are really strong," she said.

The corners of his mouth twitched a bit. "Thanks, kid. Yours are too."

Sammy examined his face, trying to see past the mask. Her eyes grew wide as she made the connection.

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "You're -!"

He quickly put a finger on her lips, silencing her. This time she saw that he was actually smiling.

"Very clever," he said. "But let's not give away that secret just yet. Let everyone else figure it out, before you go blathering out my personal details to everyone."

Sammy grinned back. "Sure," she said. "Your secret's safe with me. But as soon as you lose in the Grand Final I'm telling everyone. Deal?"

He looked at her for a long moment, before extending his hand towards her.

She shook it, before rushing off to watch Jaden fight Shadess.

* * *

Jaden stood at his end of the stadium, drinking in the crowd's praise as he lifted his arms into the air. On the other side of the stadium, Shadess was doing the same. He stepped into his podium, and grabbed a pokeball.

"Go, Jaws!" he cried, and sent the giant serpent into battle. The crowd, as usual, gasped in delight as they saw the Gyarados' shiny red scales. Shadess pulled out a pokeball as well.

"Absol, show them how it's done!" she shouted, and the four-legged pokemon burst from its pokeball, and lifted its head.

"Start off with Taunt!" commanded Shadess, and Absol wagged its head and stuck out its tongue at Jaws. The Gyarados grew angry, and lunged at Absol, who dodged. Jaws hit the ground where Absol had been only seconds before, and the floor literally cracked from the impact. Jaden grimaced.

"Time to fight back!" he said. "Jaws, use Hyper Beam!"

Jaws charged up a massive energy beam, and fired it at Absol.

"Use Detect!" cried Shadess.

Absol's eyes glowed green, and it leaped out of the way a split second before the attack reached it. Rolling to break its fall, it launched itself at Jaws.

"Now, while it's recovering, use Shadow Ball!"

Absol formed a huge ball of black energy and hurled it at Jaws. To Shadess' surprise, it barely made a mark on Jaws' hard scaly body. Nevertheless, Jaws still roared in pain, and hit Absol with a Take Down. Absol went flying, but picked itself up again.

"Now, Absol, use Thief!"

Absol jumped at Jaws, but then Jaden's voice cut through the air like a whip.

"Jaws, dodge, and then whip it with your tail!"

Jaws twisted to the side, dodging the attack, and at the same time, bought its tail whistling through the air to strike at Absol's face. Absol yowled in pain, and jumped at Jaws' face. Flying through the air, it charged up a Shadow Ball and shot it directly at Jaws. The ball went straight into its mouth and hit the back of the sea serpent's throat, causing it to writhe in pain on the ground. Shadess smirked, and opened her mouth to order a final attack.

"Night Slash!"

Absol jumped at Jaws, but to Shadess' surprise, was caught out when Jaws snaked to the side, evading Absol's attack. Before it knew what was happening, Absol was grabbed from behind and wrapped up in a death-squeeze by Jaws. Struggling to breathe, Absol felt its strength failing. Dimly, it heard Shadess calling out orders, and knew what to do.

Twisting suddenly, the Iron Tail it had been secretly charging hit Jaws in the face. Free of its constraints, Absol tried for one last Night Slash.

"Now, use Hydro Pump!" cried Jaden, and Jaws opened its mouth as wide as it could go. Water started pouring out, a continuous stream that struck Absol, and knocked it out.

"Absol is unable to battle! Jaws wins the first round!"

Shadess frowned, and called back Absol.

"Good move!" she called to Jaden. He grinned back at her, and answered back.

"I learnt from the best."

Shadess blushed. "Enough talk. Let's fight. I choose you, Drapion!"

Jaden gasped as the scorpion pokemon was released. He knew that Drapions were only weak to Ground type moves, and none of his pokemon knew any. He'd have to find another way to defeat it.

"Drapion, use Pin Missile!"

Drapion claws turned white, and a barrage of glowing pins flew out at Jaws. They peppered its face, and stabbed into its eyes and mouth, hitting its soft tongue. With a roar, Jaws collapsed. Jaden cursed.

"Come back, Jaws, you did a good job. Now, Merlin, it's your turn!"

"It'll be good to battle Merlin again, it's a tough pokemon. Don't worry though, I will defeat it," said Shadess, as Merlin materialised in front of Drapion.

"Merlin, use Fire Punch!"

Merlin's hand burst into flames as it flew through the air towards Drapion, but before it could reach the scorpion, Drapion used Scary Face. Merlin cringed in fright, and swerved off to the side before it could connect its punch. Shadess laughed.

"Now, hit it hard with Cross Poison!"

Drapion scuttled up behind Merlin, and raised its claws in an X formation. The claws glowed purple, and then Drapion bought them down on Merlin's head, leaving an X-shaped after-image. Merlin cried out in pain, but swung around and hit Drapion with a Thunder Punch. Drapion recoiled, but recovered quickly.

"Use Crunch, Drapion!"

Drapion opened its claws wide, and closed them over Merlin's fists. Merlin sneakily retaliated by using Ice Punch to turn its hands to ice, freezing Drapion's claws solid. When Merlin removed its hands from Drapions grip, the scorpion couldn't move its pincers, or even its arms. It was stuck.

Up in the stands, Erik was sitting next to Paul and Ryan.

"What a brilliant move. Most of Drapion's attacks originate from its claws. With them out of the picture, Drapion can't attack."

Paul nodded. "Very clever."

"Jaden's gonna win, isn't he Dad?" asked Ryan.

"I dunno, Ryan. Shadess is pretty strong, and I'm sure she's prepared for this eventuality somehow."

Down in the stadium, Shadess smiled a little.

"Yep," said Erik. "She's ready for it."

Shadess pointed at Merlin. "Drapion, use Fire Fang!"

"Oh no!" yelled Jaden.

"I'm afraid so, Jaden! Fire Fang will melt the ice trapping Drapion's claws, and will injure Merlin at the same time. Prepare to lose!" Drapion swung its blazing fist at Merlin.

"Not so fast! It's time for some evasive action. Merlin, Teleport behind it."

Merlin disappeared, and Drapion's attack cut through the empty air like a knife. It looked around confused, searching for the opponent that wasn't there anymore.

"Merlin, use Hidden Power!"

Drapion looked up, and saw Merlin levitating high in the air, surrounded by small, glowing balls of light. Thrusting its arms forward, Merlin hurled the balls at Drapion, who didn't have time to react. The orbs smashed into it, pounding repeatedly and then swinging around and hitting it again.

Shadess thought quickly. "Drapion, Knock Off!"

Drapion swatted at the flying balls, and they flew into the crowd, hitting random people. They yelped in pain, and shook their fists at Shadess while the rest of the audience laughed.

"Sorry about that," said Shadess sheepishly. She faced back at the arena, to find Merlin waving its arms about in the air, while Drapion slowly nodded off to sleep. Jaden had taken advantage of the confusion to order Merlin to use Hypnosis.

"Oh no! Drapion, wake up!" she screamed, but it was no use. Drapion was sleeping like a baby, while Merlin flew over to it.

"Use Dream Eater, Merlin!" ordered Jaden, and Shadess gasped as Drapion started twitching in its sleep, while Merlin closed its eyes as it stole health from Drapion. Finally, Drapion let out one last moan, and fainted (though it was difficult to tell, because there really isn't that much visual difference between a sleeping Drapion and a fainted Drapion).

"Return, Drapion!" said Shadess. She looked over at Jaden.

"You've done really well," she announced. "But I will not let you go any further. It's time for you to see one of my strongest pokemon, and it's time for you to say goodbye to your chance of winning this fight!"

Jaden grinned. "Bring it on, I love a good challenge."

"Very well, but I warned you," sneered Shadess. "Win this for me now, Cacturne!"

The giant walking cactus burst from its ball, and faced Merlin. Jaden grimaced. He knew that Cacturnes could be very strong if trained properly, and knew this one was no exception. Jaden decided that to win this, he'd have to go all out, starting right now.

"Merlin, blind it with Flash!"

A giant orb of pure light burst into being, hanging high in the air. People in the crowd started screaming and covering their eyes, and one overly-dramatic woman even yelled out "Help, it's the apocalypse!" Cacturne flinched, and Merlin took the opportunity to rush up and crack it in the face with Ice Punch. Cacturne was hurled backwards, but got back up, squinting against the light.

"Cacturne, use Payback!" shouted Shadess.

Jaden replied in kind. "Merlin, use Fire Punch!"

Both pokemon charged up their fists with energy, before running at each other and swung a punch at the same time. Their punches collided in mid-air, and sparks began flying as they both tried to best the other one.

Erik gasped. "Both attacks are super-effective against the other pokemon. Whoever connects their attack will deliver a load of damage!"

"The question is," said Paul. "Who will win?"

Merlin and Cacturne were still going at it, each one struggling with all its might to break through the other's defence. Finally, there was a huge explosion, and dust flew up, covering both pokemon.

Jaden narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the smoke, but to no avail. A long minute passed, then the smoke finally cleared on Shadess' side.

Cacturne was still standing, panting heavily, and clutching a massive burn mark on its chest. Jaden's heart filled with hope.

_If Cacturne is burnt, then that means that Merlin won the brawl. But where is it?_

The smoke on Jaden's side slowly blew away to reveal Merlin lying, unconscious, on the ground. It had a massive bruise on _its _chest.

"They both connected!" exclaimed Shadess.

"Yes," replied Jaden. "But Merlin wasn't strong enough to beat your Cacturne. You've trained it well."

Shadess blushed again. "Thanks, Jaden. So, do you wanna keep battling, or do you submit?"

Jaden smiled. "Never! I choose you, Sonyk!"

Sonyk bounced out of its ball, assuming a pose as it landed. It massages its own back.

"_About time I got out of there. I haven't been out for a battle since that guy with the Cranidos in the 5__th__ round!"_

Jaden grinned. "_Sorry, Sonyk. Are you still up for battle, or are you so incapacitated that you can't fight,"_ he teased.

"_I'll always be ready for battle, don't worry! Never fear, Sonyk is here!"_

"_Let's start then! _Sonyk, Foresight!"

Sonyk's eyes glowed, and it locked onto Cacturne. Cacturne responded by firing a Needle Arm at Sonyk. The small Aura Guardian dodged, and blasted the cactus right in the face with Force Palm. Cacturne fell to its knees, and then was knocked back by a Karate Chop. As Sonyk closed down on it, Jaden realised it had been feigning injury when it jumped straight up and smashed Sonyk with Revenge. The blue pokemon flew back, and cried out in pain.

"Poison Jab!" cried Shadess.

Purple slime started oozing from Cacturne's arm, and ran over Cacturne's arm until it was fully covered. Lurching over to Sonyk, it hurled the poisonous appendage at the small fighter. Sonyk screamed in pain as the poison burned at its skin, causing it to drop to the ground, howling. Shadess called out her final orders.

"Drain its last strength with Absorb!"

Cacturne placed the end of its branch-like arm on Sonyk's forehead and shot small tendrils into Sonyk's body. Jaden's most trusted partner screamed again as its strength began to fade. Jaden watched in horror as his friend was slowly sucked dry of energy. Suddenly, he knew what to do.

"_Sonyk!" _he cried out to its mind. "_You have to listen to me. There is only one attack that can save you now, but you have to believe in me to make it work! Do you understand?"_

"_Y-Yes, I th-think so,"_ murmured Sonyk. It disturbed Jaden at how quiet its voice was. He looked directly at Shadess.

"It's time!" he shouted.

"Time for what?" she asked, confused.

"Time for you to lose against the attack that you taught me!"

Shadess gasped. "You can't mean..." she screamed.

Jaden nodded. "Yes! Sonyk, use Return!"

Cacturne grunted as Sonyk punched it in the stomach with a fist powered by friendship. It flew straight up in the air and hit the ceiling, before falling back down and hitting the ground, out cold.

The crowd was silent for a few seconds, before erupting into cheers so loud that the stadium shook. Among them were Erik, Paul, Ryan and Sammy, who had been unable to find Erik amongst all the spectators, so had merely sat down in the first empty seat she had found.

Shadess ran to Cacturne, and gave it a massive hug, before calling it back to her pokeball. When she looked up, Jaden was trying to shake off the announcer, who insisted on holding Jaden's arm in the air in celebration, so that he could get over to her. She spared Jaden the effort by walking over to him, laughing at the announcer's antics.

"Congratulations!" she yelled over the screams of the crowd.

Jaden grinned. "Thanks!" he yelled back.

Shadess jerked her head at the exit. "Let's go, this place is too loud!"

Jaden nodded, and together they shook off the over-excited announcer, who was screaming into the microphone about the most exciting battle he had ever seen, and walked to the door that led back to the Trainer's Tent.

"Oh Jaden, I'm so proud of you!" squealed Sammy at the top of her lungs. She had snuck back into the Tent, and waited for him there. Inside, she had found Erik, Paul, and Ryan, who had also found a way in. The second Jaden walked through the door, she pulled him into a massive hug.

"Sammy – you're – choking – me!" gasped Jaden, and Sammy let go, laughing.

"Good job, young Jaden. Looks like you're doing better than even I could have expected, you're in the Gran Final!" shouted Paul, also pulling him into a giant hug.

"Paul – you're – choking – me – too!" gasped Jaden again, and Paul hurriedly stepped back.

"Whoops," he said. Erik laughed.

Jaden turned to Shadess. "Thank-you," he said. "Without the TM that you gave me when I got the Shadow Badge, I wouldn't have won that match."

Shadess shook her head. "No," she said. "What won you that match was your amazing bond with Sonyk. If you didn't have that friendship with your pokemon, the TM wouldn't have done squat. I'm proud of you, Jaden, and I think that you have a very good chance of winning the Grand Final!"

"Thanks, Shadess."

"Just try not to lose your cool when the time comes," said a gruff voice. Everyone turned to see Dr I standing on the doorway. Slowly walking forward, he continued speaking. "I look forward to battling you tomorrow. You will be a very tough challenge, but I think my pokemon have just enough strength to defeat yours. See you in the Final!"

As he turned to walk away, he surreptitiously winked at Sammy trough the eye-holes of his mask. She felt a wave of guilt wash over as she wished that she could tell Jaden who Dr I was, but she had made a deal not to reveal his secret until after the Final.

"Well," said Jaden. "In three days, I'm gonna be fighting my toughest battle yet. I can't wait!"

Paul nodded. "That's the spirit, young Jaden."

* * *

Taa-daa! May I present to you, my longest chapter yet! And, if I do say so myself, my best one so far. I just couldn't stop writing; I was so caught up in the battle. I would have made the battle longer, but I would have had to start repeating strategies if it had of gone on any longer. I hope you noticed my little reference to how I haven't had many battle with Sonyk in them lately. Sonyk's back was aching from being in his pokeball for so long.

And I do know that Knock Off doesn't do what it does in the chapter, but I decided to change its effect a little bit. A bit like Shadess' Umbreon using Snatch to take control of Merlin's Hidden Power when Jaden and Sammy first battled in Cleardawn Town.

Next time, Jaden dukes it out with the mysterious Dr I! Who is he? Sammy thinks she knows him, and Professor Palm certainly does. But will their suspicions be correct? Can Jaden defeat him? Find out next time!

And after the next chapter, Jaden faces off against his rival, so you have one last chance to get in your OC's, before I have to choose.

See you all soon, and remember to never give in!


	20. Jaden vs Dr I! The Titanium Finale!

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys! I'm back!

Now, I suppose you're all wondering who Dr I is? Well, you'll all soon find out, because this chapter concludes the Titanium Cup sub-arc. It's been a long campaign for Jaden and his friends, and all will be revealed in this chapter! Well, not all of it. In fact, the only major plot twist in this chapter is who Dr I is, and no, in case you were wondering, he's not the man Jaden is looking for. He is pretty high up in the pokemon community, though. But enough of my blathering, here's the chapter!

Jaden vs. Dr I! The Titanium Finale!

**00000000000000000000000000000000**

"_Sonyk, no!" screamed Jaden, as Dr I's Darkrai destroyed Sonyk with a single punch. Jaden fell to his knees, terrified, as Darkrai advanced on him, charging up the Dark Void that would swallow Jaden up forever. The crowd jeered, and Sammy stood out as she sneered at Jaden, and said that he was pathetic. Darkrai released its attack and Jaden could only watch as the portal opened up and sucked him in._

Jaden woke up with a start, falling out of bed in his confusion. Painfully picking himself off the floor, he reflected over his dream.

_That's impossible!_ He thought. _Dr I wouldn't have a Darkrai, and even if he did, they wouldn't let him compete with it....would they? And Sammy doesn't think I'm pathetic, just yesterday she said that she couldn't wait to see my match today, and that she was sure that I would win._

Slowly, he got back into bed, and eventually fell back to sleep.

**000000000000000000000000000000000**

"And so, in the most thrilling match of the year, Jaden ascended to the Grand Final in a battle against the Gym Leader of Cleardawn town, and now will face off against Dr I in the conclusion of the Titanium Cup! Who will win the Grand Final, and be recognised as the Titanium Champion? Let's find out! Finalists, take your places and choose your first pokemon!"

"Get out there, Mawile."

"Start this off with a bang, Sonyk!"

As Sonyk and Mawile were realised, Jaden stared long and hard at the mysterious man facing him. Who was under that mask? Did Jaden know him? Jaden shook off the feelings of foreboding and communicated with Sonyk through their mind connection.

"_Ok, Sonyk, this is it! The time has come to show the world our true strength, against the strongest opponent we've ever faced."_

"_I'll try my best, Jaden. I can't make any promises, though."_

Jaden smiled. "_Let's start this off. _Sonyk, use Force Palm!"

Sonyk dashed straight at Mawile, its palm glowing with a fierce light as Sonyk focused all of its energy into one spot.

"Mawile, Iron Defence!"

Mawile's skin turned as hard as steel. The Force Palm connected, but didn't do much damage. Unfortunately, this left Sonyk in a vulnerable state as it landed.

"Crunch!"

Mawile's giant extra mouth closed over Sonyk's head, and shook it from side to side violently. Sonyk cried out, and used Karate Chop on Mawile. Mawile's skin was still like rock, though, and Mawile barely felt it.

"Use Endure, Sonyk!" called Jaden, and Sonyk began to slowly wither down Mawile's energy, while remaining strong itself. Finally, Jaden was ready.

"Use Counter!"

Mawile was blown back across the stadium as Sonyk's attack connected. To Jaden's surprise, it slowly stood back up.

"How did it survive that attack?" he exclaimed.

"It has very good stamina, doesn't it," said Dr I. "Mawile, Sweet Scent!"

Mawile opened up its mouth, and a gust of wind blew out, heavily tinted with an incredibly nice smelling aroma. It covered Sonyk, and passed its smell onto the small pokemon. Jaden shook his head. What use was that attack?

"Sonyk, Quick Attack!"

Within the space of a single second, Sonyk dashed over to Mawile, and tackled it to the ground. Mawile got back up painfully, and looked around for Sonyk. It found it, or rather, one of them. Surrounding Mawile was about twenty Sonyk's, all charging up a Force Palm. When Mawile fell to the ground, Sonyk had used Double Team!

"_Nice thinking, Sonyk. Good work," _said Jaden. He knew exactly which Sonyk was the real one.

"_No problem, Jaden. Now, for a surprise attack."_

One of the copies ran forward, and put its palm on Mawile's chest. Mawile didn't even flinch. The attack faded away, because the copy had no physical presence.

"_How did Mawile know that wasn't real?"_ asked Jaden.

"_How the Hell should I know?" _answered Sonyk.

Two more copies ran forward, but again, Mawile just stood there, and watched as the attacks failed.

"_Grr. It's time to actually attack!" _growled Sonyk.

This time five Sonyk's rushed forward, the real one among the copies. This time, Mawile did move, swinging its giant mouth towards Sonyk and catching it.

"How did it know which was the real one?!" cried Jaden aloud.

"The Sweet Scent, remember? Sonyk smelled very different to the others," said Dr I.

"_Oh, don't mind me. I'm doing fine," _grunted Sonyk, who was trapped by Mawile again.

"_Sorry, Sonyk. Um, use Force Palm!"_

Sonyk unleashed its attack, blowing Mawile back, while releasing Sonyk at the same time.

"It's time we end this!" yelled Dr I.

"Agreed! Sonyk, use Return!"

"Iron Head, Mawile!"

Mawile's entire head turned to steel, while Sonyk's fist gave off a white, flaming aura.

"GO!" screamed Jaden.

"Release it now!" retaliated Dr I.

Sonyk leaped over to Mawile, who began to slowly run forwards at Sonyk. They collided halfway, each struggling to overcome the other's defence. Just like on the battle against Shadess, there was a huge explosion, and smoke went everywhere.

"Pull through, Sonyk!"

"Who won?" asked Sammy, in the crowd.

"We'll just have to wait and see," replied Shadess.

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal both Sonyk and Mawile lying next to each other, both unable to battle any longer.

"Wow, ladies and gentlemen! The force of the attacks knocked out both pokemon!" cried the announcer.

"Return, Sonyk. You did well."

"_I'm sorry, Jaden."_

"_It's OK. I know that you did your best."_

Dr I threw a pokeball high into the air, and his Bastiodon burst out. Jaden fought back with Merlin.

"Merlin, fly up into the air!"

Merlin used its psychic powers to float up quickly.

"Now, Shock Wave!"

Merlin charged up, and sent a huge electric beam sizzling towards Bastiodon. Dr I countered quickly.

"Protect!"

A green shield appeared around Bastiodon, and the beam bounced off and flew towards Jaden. Merlin dropped down in front of him and repelled the wave with its own, blue shield. This time, the electricity zapped up and hit the stadium roof, punching straight through and into the sky.

"Bastiodon, use Ancient Power!"

The rocks attached to Bastiodon broke off, and flew at Merlin, who dodged. Once the rocks had attached themselves back to Bastiodon, it jumped into the air at Merlin. Just as it was about to smash Merlin in mid-air, it came to a halt abruptly. Merlin had caught it with Psychic. It held its hand out now, as if holding Bastiodon up.

"Now, smash it to the ground!" commanded Jaden.

Merlin threw its arms down, and Bastiodon was hurled towards the ground. It hit hard, and growled in pain.

"Get back up, and use Metal Sound!"

Bastiodon clambered back up to its feet, and an awful noise began emitting from it. As one, the crowd stuffed their fingers into their ears. Unfortunately for them, it still got through.

"Argh, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard, multiplied by a hundred times!" whined Ryan.

"What?" answered Erik, who couldn't here because of the Metal Sound.

"Huh?" asked Sammy, deafened by the screeching.

"You'll have to speak up!" Erik shouted back.

"What?"

"Never mind!"

Luckily for Merlin, Protect could block sound as well as attacks, so it was unaffected. Carrying its shield with it, it charged at Bastiodon, Fire Punch at the ready.

WHACK!

Bastiodon flew back as Merlin's fist smashed into it.

"Now, Psycho Cut!"

Merlin held out its hands, and what looked like white knives made out of pure light were formed, clenched in Merlin's mitts. Rotating once on the spot, it hurled them at Bastiodon, who got slashed by the sharp light.

"Bastiodon, use Take Down!"

"Dodge it, Merlin!"

Merlin flew up in the air, and Bastiodon's attack missed.

"Wow, Jaden's Kadabra is really strong, isn't it, Dad?" shouted Ryan, his eyes bright. "Its dominating Dr I's Bastiodon."

"Don't underestimate Dr I!" exclaimed Shadess suddenly. "He's a lot stronger than he lets on!"

"You say that like you know him," said Erik.

Shadess' face went red. So did Sammy's. They looked at each other, while Ryan, Paul and Erik looked at both of them.

"You DO know him, don't you?" said Paul.

"And YOU do as well!" accused Erik, glaring at Sammy.

"Don't look at me like that! I guessed who he was, alright? But then I swore not to tell anyone, until the match is over!" said Sammy angrily.

"What about you, Shadess?" asked Ryan, with wide eyes. "How do you know him?"

"I've known the man for years," replied Shadess. "He often goes under this name when he wants to keep his identity a secret. Too bad for you guys, I promised not to tell anyone who he was either. I haven't broken that promise since I made it, five years ago, and I'm not about to break it, just to tell you guys."

"Well, then, the second this match finishes, I want answers, Sammy," warned Erik. She laughed.

"Oh, I'll tell you, I've been struggling to hold it in these past few days."

"Wow, look down there, guys!" cried Ryan, who had quickly lost interest in the conversation and turned back to the match. The others looked, and gasped. Bastiodon was fiercely trying to break through a Reflect that Merlin had set up, and was pounding it over and over again with its massive head. Merlin was obviously struggling to hold the Reflect up, and finally Bastiodon burst through and smashed Merlin to the ground.

"Bastiodon, prepare your Hyper Beam attack!"

"Merlin, fly back up into the air, and make a Shadow Ball!"

"Shadow Ball? Jaden sure does love his TM's, doesn't he?" said Erik.

Merlin was halfway between the roof and the floor, holding its arms to one side, charging up a giant black ball. It looked so much like a Kamehameha that Jaden almost laughed at it. Meanwhile, down on the ground, Bastiodon was charging up a beam in its mouth. The yellow ball was getting bigger and bigger by the second.

"Keep going, Merlin, put all of your energy into it!" yelled Jaden at the top of his lungs.

"Bastiodon, max power!" cried Dr I.

By now, the orbs were both the size of a car, and getting bigger. Both pokemon were putting every ounce of power into this one attack.

"You can do it, Merlin!"

"Stand fast, Bastiodon!"

Finally, when they couldn't charge up any more, the balls were about the size of a classroom, only circular. Dr I ordered the advance.

"FIRE!" he screamed.

Bastiodon released the Hyper Beam, and it practically exploded into the air. The sound was deafening, a gigantic roar that blocked out every other noise, numbing everyone's brains. The beam of energy shot straight into the air, directly at Merlin, who was still charging its Shadow Ball. The attack enveloped it, and kept on going, blowing the entire roof off the stadium. Pieces of rubble crashed down, but were repelled by the security Espeons littered throughout the stands, who caught the giant chunks of concrete, and safely levitated them down to the ground. When the dust cleared, Merlin was gone.

"Where is it?" gasped Dr I. "And what happened to the Shadow Ball?"

Jaden grinned. "Have you ever heard of the technique Teleport?" he asked innocently.

"What? NO!"

"Merlin! Release it now!"

And with a cheer from the crowd, Merlin teleported behind Bastiodon, and shot the truck-sized Shadow Ball at Bastiodon. The darkness engulfed the fossil pokemon, and it fainted.

"What a strategy!" yelled Paul in delight.

Merlin hovered down to the ground, exhausted, but it managed to stay standing. Opposite Jaden, Dr I was taking a pokeball off the necklace he wore around his neck.

_I've seen a necklace like that before! _Thought Jaden.

"Win this match for me, Metang!" shouted Dr I, as he enlarged the pokeball and threw it high into the air.

Erik gasped. "Now I know who Dr I is!" He turned to Sammy. "Is Dr I –

He was drowned out by the crowd moaning as Merlin collapsed, knocked out by an attack from the Metang. Sammy managed to lip-read him though, and she nodded.

"Wow," said Erik. "So that's Dr I, eh? If it weren't for that Metang, I wouldn't have known."

Down in the stadium, Jaden selected his final pokemon, and sent his Houndour, Flare.

"Good choice!" said Paul. "Metang has a weakness against fire and dark types, and Flare is both!"

Dr I frowned. "Metang, use Miracle Eye!"

"What? But Metang can't learn that technique!" cried Jaden.

Dr I grinned. "With enough training, a pokemon perfect anything!"

"Thanks to Miracle Eye, Flare's dark type advantage just went down the drain!" exclaimed Shadess.

"Let's go! Use Psychic to hold it in place, and then use Meteor Mash!"

Flare yelped as it was frozen. Metang's arm glowed white, and it smashed it against Flare. Golden stars and meteor shards flew out and landed on the ground. Flare definitely felt the attack, and it fell to the ground, injured.

"Come on, Flare, get back up! You can do it!" encouraged Jaden, and Flare stood up.

"That's it! Now, use Ember!"

Flare blew several flames at Metang, who recoiled as its steel body warmed up quickly. Suddenly, Metang was knocked back as Flare tackled it.

"Metang, Confusion!"

Metang's eyes glowed purple, and Flare yelped again, and fell down. When it got back up, the pupils in its eyes had gone, and it started smashing its head against the ground.

"Oh, no! Flare is confused!" squealed Sammy, and she covered her eyes.

"Come on, snap out of it, Flare!" shouted Jaden, but it was no use. Metang started laying into the dog, pounding it over and over again with its heavy arms. The whole time, Flare was trying to bite itself. After about a minute, Metang withdrew, giving its arms and mind a rest.

"No, Flare, we've come too far to lose now! Fight back!"

Flare looked up, directly at Jaden. It could here its master calling to it, but couldn't understand the words. Then it fell back into its daze and started sniffing its own bum. Jaden was shocked that he was about to lose.

"NO! This can't be happening to me!" he shouted.

Flare looked up again. Slowly, its pupils came back, and it understood what it needed to do. Before it could act though, it fell back under the spell. Jaden almost hit himself in frustration. He looked at Flare, who was trying to touch its nose with its tongue. And then it happened.

Flare felt something deep within its mind. A presence. Of something that wasn't normally there. It was Jaden. And he spoke.

"_Flare! You have to break out of this! It's the only way to win! We've come too far to just give up now!"_

And as the voice faded out, Flare knew that it would win this battle for its master, for its friend. All its life it had been abused by its old trainer, Ryo. Then it met Jaden, and its life had instantly gotten better. Jaden had shown nothing but kindness to Flare, and now it was time to pay it all back!

As Jaden stared directly into its eyes, Flare started to glow. Its whole body turned white, and with a gasp from the crowd, and from Jaden, Flare began to get bigger. When it stopped growing, the light faded to show Flare. Only it wasn't Flare anymore.

"It evolved into Houndoom!" gasped Dr I. "How is this possible?"

"Yeah, we're back into the fight now! Flare, use Iron Tail!"

Flare's spiked tail turned to steel, and it smacked Metang across the face with it. Metang fell back, in pain. Flare followed up with a Crunch, and then an Ember. One attack after another, Flare started overwhelming Metang with a massive array of different attacks, slowly driving it backwards.

"Now, Dr I! Let's end this! Flare, use Flamethrower!" yelled Jaden.

Flare threw back its head, and then shot a storm of fire at Metang, who couldn't withstand the heat and fainted.

The crowd spontaneously combusted in cheers and screams, and Jaden panted heavily as he leaned back against the back of his podium, exhausted. The announcer was going off his face in excitement screaming out.

"JADEN IS THE WINNER OF THE TITANTIUM CUP!" he screamed.

And then, in front of everyone, Dr I began to pull off his mask. The crowd went dead silent. The mask slowly fell away to reveal the trainer that had presented so much of a challenge to Jaden.

"Irok!" gasped Jaden.

And indeed it was. Standing in the Titanium Stadium was the Daskon Gym Leader, Irok.

"Surprised?"

Jaden nodded. "Of course. You had me fooled to the end."

Up in the stands, Paul was gobsmacked.

"So that's who Dr I was!"

Erik nodded. "I guessed it when he sent out Metang. It recognised it, from when I beat Irok."

"And that's how YOU know him, Shadess!" said Ryan. "He's a Gym Leader, just like you!"

Shadess nodded. "Yeah, me and him are good mates."

The announcer came over to Jaden, holding a huge trophy. He passed it to Jaden, along with a cheque.

"That's not all you won," said Irok. "Take this as well."

And out of his pocket he pulled a small, silver object, and pressed it into Jaden's hand.

"Awesome! The Iron Badge!" shouted Jaden, thrusting it into the air.

Irok nodded. "Since you beat me, you get that. I might have been going under a different name, but I'm still a Gym Leader."

"I still can't believe that Jaden won," said Paul, "in a tournament that I recommended for him! I feel like a fortune-teller!

Shadess looked around. "Where's Sammy?"

The others looked around them, but couldn't see her.

"Is that her down there?" said Ryan, pointing down at a small figure climbing over the grandstand wall into the arena. As they watched, the girl ran towards Jaden.

"OH MY GOD, JADEN, YOU DID IT! I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" screamed Sammy, as she threw her arms around Jaden, almost choking him again.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000**

So, Jaden managed to win the final against Irok, the Gym Leader, and also won the Iron Badge. I'm glad that the tournament is finally over, it's getting hard writing endless battles, I want to get onto the storyline more.

I hope that I managed to keep you guessing about Irok's identity right to the end, it's fun having a plot twist like that. Tell me via review or PM if you guessed or not, or if you thought it was someone who it wasn't.

By the way, I got the Teleport Shadow Ball tactic from Dragon Ball Z, when Goku almost kills Cell by charging a Kamehameha and then using Instant Transmission to get below him, and fire. Only Cell wasn't charging up and attack as well, like Bastiodon was. He was just standing there, wondering whether Goku would actually fire or not.

Now, since I'm writing this during the day, I'll have nothing to do tonight! And you know what that means! Double update! I swear on my life that I will update again tonight.

Now, only two more things.

#1: Since I'm updating tonight, you'll only have about 3 hours to get any last minute Jaden Rival OC's in. Jaden will battle the Rival in the next chapter. Remember, I'm looking for boys, not girls. Also, remember that if I don't choose your character, I'll fit them into the story somewhere else, as an important character.

#2: I'm having a lot of trouble deciding what I should call the name of the world that Jaden comes from. I was thinking about calling it the "Real World", but I thought that if a character called it that, the others might get offended by the fact that someone's saying that their world isn't real. Then I thought I should call it the "Other World", but I got that from Dragon Ball Z, and I don't want to copy them. So, I'm holding a competition. Whoever can think up the best name for the "Other World", gets to have a major character named after them ( and no, I'm not naming Jaden's Rival after you, it'll be someone else of great importance). When I say I'll name them after you, I mean your real name, not a username.

Well, I'll see you all tonight!


	21. Monkey See, Loony Duel

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

OK, guys, as promised, I'm here with my second chapter of the day! I hope that you enjoy the double update, and I might even update again tomorrow.

Now, I've started pretty late, so this'll be a short chapter, 2500 words at the most. In this segment of the story, Jaden meets a new rival, and engages in battle with her. Let the fight begin!

**00000000000000000000000000**

"Gee, it sure was nice of Irok to give you that Old Amber, wasn't it Jaden?" said Erik, as the group walked through the town, towards the Northern exit. Jaden was carrying a lump of what looked like hardened gold syrup in his hands. It had been given to him when they had said farewell to Irok.

"Yeah. Too bad we're leaving today. Irok was a cool guy."

"But we've all beaten him now, haven't we?" piped up Sammy. "Well, except you and Ryan, Paul. And you, Shadess."

"What are you talking about, I've beaten Irok before. Just as he's beaten me! All of us Gym Leaders have all beaten each other sometime in the past."

Paul grinned. "And who's to say that I've never beaten him? I haven't, but you never know. Look at these!"

He pulled out not one, but _three _badgecases. He opened them all and gave everyone a quick glance at the eight badges in each.

"Wow! You've got twenty-four badges?! You're good!" said Jaden in surprise.

Paul laughed. "Yeah, I was a champion back in my day. I got badges in Kanto, Hoenn and Johto. Never got around to Sinnoh. But I could never compete on the Elite Four level. They're in another league, wiping me out without breaking a sweat. Poor Chuka always got beaten easily. We haven't battled competitively for years, though, so we're pretty out of shape."

They reached the Northern exit of Daskon City, and looked at each other.

"Well," said Shadess. "I guess this is it then. I've been away from my Gym for way too long."

"And I promised my Dad to come home after the tournament finished," said Sammy.

"I'll miss you guys!" said Jaden miserably. "I wouldn't have gotten to where I am without either of you."

He gave both Sammy and Shadess a massive hug each. Erik also exchanged embraces, and then it was time for Sammy and Shadess to leave.

"Friends 'til the end?" asked Jaden.

Sammy nodded. "Friends 'til the end. I guess I'll see you sometime soon, then. See ya."

"Yeah, see you sometime," answered Erik.

Sammy and Shadess walked off into the distance. Just before they passed out of eye-shot, Sammy turned and waved. Jaden returned the gesture, and then they were gone.

"That's it then," said Paul. "She was a good friend, Jaden. I'm sure you'll see her again soon."

"Are you guys leaving too?" asked Erik.

Ryan nodded. "We only came here to watch the Titanium Cup. We need to keep on going on our trip around Bronko."

"Where to next?" asked Jaden.

"To Krokania Town, for us. The Eastern Exit."

When they arrived it was once again time to say goodbye. Paul almost broke Jaden and Erik's backs in a massive group hug, and then almost fractured their fingers in two crushing handshakes. Jaden turned to Ryan, and gave him a high-five.

"I'll see ya around, Ryan."

"You will, Jaden. And I'll see you again."

"Bye, then."

When the Father and Son had gone, Jaden and Erik walked together to the Southern Exit. They were travelling together until they reached the Crossroads, where they would split. Jaden was heading South-West to Amonis Town, while Erik was going South-East of the Crossroads to Metrosan City.

"Everything packed?" asked Erik.

Jaden nodded. "I think so. You ready, then?"

Erik nodded. "Let's go."

Together, they walked out of the city for the final time. An hour down the track, and the city was far behind them. Trees surrounded the boys, and flowers were blooming around them. Pokemon were everywhere, in the trees, scurrying along the ground, digging into the ground. They reached a clearing, and decided to stop for lunch. Tucking into the food, Jaden felt at peace with himself. Then he remembered something.

"Hey, can I tell you something? Something about when I battled Irok?"

"Sure," said Erik. "I'm all ears, that was an exciting battle, especially when Flare evolved."

"That's what I need to tell you about. Just before it evolved, when it was confused, I felt like...it's hard to explain."

Erik smiled. "Try me."

"It was almost like I left my body and entered Flare's. I could feel it, and I gave it enough strength to evolve. Then I talked to it, and I felt its determination. It was weird. Then Flare broke out of its confusion, and evolved. Do you know anything about what might have happened?"

Erik shook his head slowly. "I've never heard of that happening before. Although..."

"Yeah?"

"I've heard that some people can communicate with their pokemon, like you do with Sonyk, except with any pokemon, whether they can use Aura or not. I always thought it was just a silly folk tale though, but you never know."

"That sounds a bit strange. Oh well. How long is it to the Crossroads?"

"Three days."

After lunch, they packed up, and began moving again. Along the way, they played games, and battled wild pokemon. Erik caught a Nidorino, but had to send it to his PC, since he already had six pokemon with him. Suddenly, Jaden saw something that interested him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a yellow and blue dog pokemon.

"Check it out," he murmured to Erik. "A wild Manetric. Do you think I should go for it?"

"Hell yeah!" said Erik. "They're really rare around here; there are only about a hundred in all of Bronko. They mostly live in Hoenn."

"OK! I'm going for it!"

Jaden pulled an empty pokeball out of his bag. "Go, pokeball, capture that Manetric!"

He hurled the ball at the dog, but before the ball could get to it, a dark shape stumbled out of the bushes, between the ball and the Manetric. It was a girl, about 14 years old.

"Look out!" she screamed, almost tripping over. The pokeball hit her on the shoulder, and she spun around on the spot, almost falling over again.

"What the HELL was that?" the girl yelled. "I'm being attacked by wild pokemon!" Then she saw Jaden and Erik, and stopped dead. Slowly, she looked down, at the pokeball that had fallen to the ground. Then, still as slow as a caterpillar, she turned around, and saw the Manetric. With a shriek, she jumped about two feet into the air, and then landed on her bum. The Manetric got startled, and dashed away.

"Oh, no, it's getting away! Quick, after it!" She scrambled to her feet, and accidently ran into a tree.

"Youch," she whined, pinching her nose. "That smarts!"

"Who ARE you?" asked Jaden, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Yeah, and what are you doing here?" asked Erik.

"My name is Skye. And what are YOU doing here?"

"Travelling. I'm Jaden, and this is Erik."

"I'm travelling too," said Skye. "Hey, are you guys trainers? Want a battle?"

"Sure," said Jaden, grabbing Sonyk's pokeball. "What type of battle?"

"One-on-one, let's go! Say, don't I know you from somewhere?"

Erik nodded. "You probably know his face. He won the Titanium Cup three days ago."

Skye's eyes went wide. "Holy crap! You're really good. But I'll battle you anyway! I choose you, Croconaw!"

"Sonyk, go!"

A change seemed to come over Skye. Her craziness disappeared in an instant, and she held herself in a different way.

"Let's battle! It will be a good experience to fight you, Jaden."

"Is it just me, or did she just take on an entirely new personality?" whispered Erik in Jaden's ear.

"Yeah, that's odd."

Sonyk faced off against Skye's Croconaw. The blue crocodile tried to bite Sonyk, but the Aura Guardian dodged.

"Force Palm!"

Sonyk tried to place its hand on Croconaw's body to fire the attack, but Croconaw quickly rolled to one side, then bit down on Sonyk's arm.

"Karate Chop."

Sonyk took a swing at Croconaw. As the crocodile fell back from the impact, one of its teeth was ripped out. Croconaw didn't even flinch.

"That looks like it would have hurt," said Erik. "That tooth got wrenched."

"Oh, don't you worry, Croconaw can grow back teeth within a day, if lost. There're never any less than forty-eight teeth in its mouth. It's pretty good, because Croconaw here loses teeth a lot. That there is the seven-thousandth, four-hundred and fifty-third tooth that Croconaw has lost in its life," said Skye.

"You keep count?" asked Erik, one eyebrow raised.

"Of course. Now, let's continue. Croconaw, use Aqua Tail!"

Water spurted from Croconaw's tail, swirling around and creating a mini-whirlpool on its tail. Croconaw whipped its tail at Sonyk, and sent the water spiralling through the air towards Jaden's pokemon. It hit hard, and Sonyk fell to the ground.

"Not so fast! Sonyk, eat your Oran Berry!"

Sonyk took a small blue fruit out of a tiny pouch around its neck. Gobbling the berry down, it stood back up, refreshed.

"Now, use Double Team!"

Multiple copies of Sonyk fanned out in different directions, surrounding Croconaw. It didn't know which one to attack, and solved that by spinning in a circle. While it spun, it released a Water Gun, which punched through every copy, eventually hitting the real Sonyk, who was thrown back.

"Now, my friend, use Crunch!"

Croconaw lunged at Sonyk, and closed its massive jaws over the top of it, fitting Sonyk's entire body in its mouth.

"Good luck giving commands when your pokemon's in there!" smirked Skye. "Your Riolu won't be able to hear you!"

Jaden chuckled. "That's where you're wrong!"

"What!" gasped Skye.

"_Sonyk, hit on the roof of its mouth with Force Palm!"_

"_You got it, boss."_

Light exploded out of Croconaw's mouth as the attack connected. The crocodile's mouth was blasted open by the Force Palm, and Sonyk leaped out before Croconaw could close it again.

"How did you do that?!" cried Skye.

Jaden grinned. "I'll tell you later. Now, Sonyk, finish this off with a Drain Punch!"

Sonyk's fist glowed green, and grew to twice its usual size. Croconaw went cross-eyed from the impact, and fell to the ground, out for the count.

"Wow, you're amazing! How the heck did you do that? Can you teach me? Where are you going next? How many badges do you have?" barraged Skye, reverting back to her nutty and clumsy persona.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. One question at a time!" said Jaden.

"OK, first things first. Where's the toilet?"

That night, Skye announced that she was leaving, to take on the Gyms and get better.

"We'll battle again, Jaden! You and me are officially rivals now!" she yelled as she ran off, tripping over about ten times before she passed out of sight.

Erik blew a sigh of relief. "Phew. She's quite a handful, isn't she?"

"She's not too bad. It was weird when she battled though, wasn't it? It was like she turned into a whole different person."

**0000000000000000000000000000**

In the trees above them, hidden amongst the branches and leaves, another girl watched them talk.

"So, you've found me a tough opponent. Good job, Sableye," she said to a shadow standing besides her. "You know that I'd be lost without you and the others."

Sableye bared its teeth, looking down at Jaden and Erik again.

"I'll just wait for the opportune moment, Sableye. Then we'll strike! I'll beat you, Jaden! Mark my words, Kara will defeat you!"

**00000000000000000000000000**

Taa-daa! It's done!

I know that I went a little overboard on the clumsiness of Skye, but I'm one of the clumsiest people you'll ever meet, so it's good to have someone more foolish than me. And as for Kara, she's not some sort of ninja, hiding in the trees, waiting to strike, she just wants to battle, but loves making an entrance. Check the reviews for a bio.

Now, I might update again, but I probably, won't I need to get my science assignment done.

Next time, we go through Sammy's point of view, as she travels back to Huckleberry Town with Shadess, and stops off in a little village along the way. Something new will happen in the village, but what will it be? Find out, either tomorrow or next week!


	22. Sammy's New Hobby

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi. New chapter time!

I hope you all enjoyed my double-update last week; I'll try and do another one today and tomorrow.

I've already had quite a few entries in my Other World naming contest, keep it up guys!

This chapter is from Sammy's point of view, so you'll have to wait for a bit more of Jaden.

**00000000000000000000000000000000**

"Are we nearly at the next town?" complained Sammy. "My legs are killing me!"

"Oh, stop whining! Why are your legs hurting so much anyway? They didn't when you walked to Daskon with Jaden," replied Shadess.

"Yeah, well, when we went to Daskon, we stopped to camp every now and then. We've been walking all day now, and we only stopped once for a five minute break. And you still didn't answer my question!"

"Suck it up; I travelled to Daskon tied up in the back of a van with a bag over my head, courtesy of Team Epsilon. And we'll be to Nasbite Town in about ten minutes, we can stop there at a motel overnight," Shadess said. "

"OH, THANK GOD!" groaned Sammy. "It'll be good to have a real bed under me tonight. Quick, let's walk faster."

"I thought you were in pain?" questioned Shadess.

"Times change. Now let's move!"

Sammy scrambled off into the distance, leaving Shadess far behind. As she drew closer to the town, Sammy saw posters on the sides of buildings, and a man was standing in the town square. Every few seconds he would whack the gong beside him and start yelling.

"Come one, come all, come to the Nasbite Contest!"

"Oh, would you SHUT UP!" screamed a woman out of her window, from the house next to the man. "You've been ringing that bloody gong all morning, I'm sure everyone's got the message by now!"

Sammy strolled up to the man."What's going on?" she asked.

Quick as a flash, he grabbed a sheet of paper from his pocket and pressed it into Sammy's hand.

"It's the Nasbite Contest!" he yelled. Sammy winced at his loud voice.

"Settle down. Tell me quietly what the Nasbite Contest is."

Obviously trying very hard to speak at a reasonable level, the man said, "It's a pokemon contest! People show off their pokemon in tests of fashion and strength!"

"I _know_ what a contest is," said Sammy. "When's the Nasbite Contest?"

"Today!" said the man, returning to his normal volume. "Just head over there, to that building!"

"Thanks," answered Sammy. As she walked away, Shadess caught up.

"Try not to leave me behind again, please," said Shadess wearily.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Shadess, I forgot about you. I was so anxious to get to town that I just rushed off," said Sammy, in an apologetic tone.

"That's alright. Did I hear that man mention the Nasbite Contest?"

Sammy nodded. "He's still mentioning it," she said, listening to the man banging the gong far behind them. "It's on today! Do you think I should enter?"

"Why not! Give it a go, it'd be fun!"

"OK, let's go!" said Sammy.

Entering the registration building, Sammy and Shadess walked up to the counter. The woman behind it looked up from her computer.

"Hi, are you here to register for the contest?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" asked Sammy.

"You just have a contest look about you. Also, this is the _contest registration counter_."

"Oh," said Sammy, feeling rather foolish.

"No worries. Now, do you have a Contest Pass?" asked the woman.

"No, this is my first time," answered Sammy.

"OK then, just slot your Pokedex into that slot there," said the woman, pointing at a machine. Sammy put her Pokedex in, and the machine scanned it, displaying Sammy's details on the screen.

"OK, Sammy, here is your Contest Pass. Treat it well, you'll need that for any other contests that you might enter." Sammy was passed a small card, which, along with her Pokedex, was placed back into her bag.

"Now, are you registering for the Single or Double contest?"

"Single or Double?" asked Sammy, confused.

"Yes, that's a new feature that's being introduced this year. In a Double contest, you show off two pokemon at one time, and they can work together to make both of them look extra nice. Then, if you reach the finals, you will battle your opponent in a double battle, instead of a single."

"Oh, I see. Hmm, I think I'll just start off with a Single for now, I'll try Double out some other time," said Sammy.

"Well, just head into those changing rooms and change into your outfit. The Contest will start in three hours."

"Outfit?" asked Sammy.

"Yes, your outfit. You don't have a special outfit that you plan to wear?" asked the woman.

Sammy slowly shook her head.

"Well then, I'd recommend heading down to the "Best Fit" fancy dress store down the road and choosing one, because you'll need it when the contest starts, believe me."

**000000000000000000000000000000**

"So, what do you think?" asked Sammy, as she showed off her new clothes to Shadess. She wore a white and blue dress, with a red and green dress. Sammy's long, blonde hair was tied in pig-tails, with yellow ribbons. Her shoes were black and shiny, and to cap it off, she wore a dazzling gold tiara.

"You look very colourful," joked Shadess. "Just right for a contest. You'd better get over to the pavilion, there's only fifteen minutes left until the contest starts.

**000000000000000000000000000000**

Sammy felt slightly alone in the crowded room, full of contestants. How was she meant to stand up against all of these people, and win? Soon, nearly everyone had finished their appeals. Sammy wondered when her name would be called.

Fumbling, she dropped her pokeball on the ground. As she bent to pick it up, someone else got there first.

"Here, I think you dropped this," said the girl who picked up the ball. Sammy gratefully took back the ball.

"Thanks," she said.

The girl cocked her head. "My name's Jennifer, but you can call me Jenny. What's your name?"

"I'm Sammy. You look great for the contest," said Sammy, and she was right. Jenny was wearing a black miniskirt, as well as a yellow top, with an Eevee printed on the front. Her high heels were silver, and she wore her blonde hair in a plait down her back. But what was most amazing about her were her eyes. They were sky-blue, and completed Jenny's face to make her the most stunning girl Sammy had ever seen.

"Thanks. You look great too. I can't wait to battle you on the finals," said Jenny.

"You really think I can make it to the finals?!" gasped Sammy, surprised that Jenny would think that. Jenny grinned, showing her perfect teeth.

"Of course. Anyone who did so well in the Titanium Cup would be sure to do well here. Your pokemon move with a certain grace that makes them perfect for this sort of thing."

"You saw me in the Titanium Cup?" asked Sammy.

"Yep. When you told me your name, I remembered where I'd seen you before."

A voice came over the megaphone. "Sammy Palm, please report to the stage, it's your turn to show off your pokemon."

"That's me, I gotta go," said Sammy. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was great meeting you too!" answered Jenny.

Sammy walked to the door, and down the hall to the stage. Due to the Titanium Cup, she was used to cameras and crowds, but that was when she was battling, which she was skilled in. Contests were a whole different matter.

As she walked in, the crowd cheered. Sammy reached for her pokeball.

"Go, Scythe!" she called, and her green bug pokemon jumped from his pokeball. The crowd ooh'd and aah'd as the seal on Scythe's pokeball sent stars hurtling all over the stage. Scythe darted around, zooming from one place to the next.

"Scythe, Double Team!"

Multiple Scythers started popping up all over the place as Scythe created clones of itself. The copies spread out into the air, arranging into a pyramid formation.

"Now, Silver Wind!"

As one, the clones fanned their wings, creating a fine dust that shimmered in the light. The crowd gasped as the copies used Swords Dance, leaping about in the dust. Once again, they formed a pyramid.

"Destroy all the copies with Aerial Ace!"

Starting at the bottom, the real Scyther flew around, cutting one duplicate after another in half with its razor sharp claws. Finally, it obliterated the one at the top with an X-Scissor.

The crowd cheered loudly, calling Sammy's name. Grinning, Sammy turned back into the tunnel back to the waiting room. When she arrived, she looked around for Jenny.

"And now, our last contestant, it's Jennifer Terringdale, with her Glaceon!"

Sammy spun around to the TV, and saw Jenny waving to the crowd. Sammy watched in awe as Jenny's Glaceon created a Water Pulse, then froze it with Ice Beam. Balancing the frozen ball on its tail, the Glaceon hurled it in the air, and then smashed it with Shadow Claw. Finally, Glaceon shattered every shard with Tail Whip.

When Jenny arrived back at the pavilion, the Glaceon riding on her shoulder, Sammy ran up to her.

"That was amazing!" she squealed. "I've never seen such an exciting appeal!"

Jenny grinned. "Me and Ice can handle anything," she smirked. Her face turned to interest as she looked at the TV screen. It was time to announce the finalists.

The room was completely silent as eight cards appeared on the screen. Every eye was watching as one by one, the cards revealed the face of the people who had made it to the finals. First up was Jenny. Six more followed, and then, to her astonishment, the eighth card flipped, to show Sammy's face.

"Alright, I made it in!" she said. Jenny turned and smiled at her.

"We both did. Looks like we will face off in the finals. The Grand Final, that is."

Sammy was confused. "How do you know that we won't battle before that?"

Jenny pointed at the cards. "You battle the person on the card next to you. Since I'm the first card, and you're the last, we'll only battle each other on the Grand Final. If we both make there, that is."

"I'm sure we will," said Sammy, and Jenny smiled.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

"Now, Scythe, finish it off with X-Scissor!"

Scythe rammed its crossed arms into its opponent's Glameow. The cat pokemon fell to the ground, defeated, just as the timer reached zero.

"Alright, Scythe, you did it!" shouted Sammy, and she punched the air.

"And so, Sammy Palm will move onto the Grand Final, where she will battle last year's winner, Jennifer Terringdale. Who will win, folks? Let's find out!" yelled the announcer into his megaphone. Sammy walked back to the pavilion, where she found Jenny waiting, alone, in the room.

"Congratulations," she said, when Sammy walked in.

"You too," replied Sammy. "Well, I guess we're enemies now."

Jenny laughed. "Yeah, but we can still be friendly to each other. The Grand Final isn't until tomorrow, what do you say to a tour of the town?"

Sammy nodded. "Sounds OK to me. Let's go."

As they walked around town, Sammy noticed two men a hundred metres away. They looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen them. Passing it off as nothing, Sammy returned to her tour, and began preparing for the final the next day.

**00000000000000000000000000000000**

O-Kaaaaay, definitely not one of my best chapters. I would have done better, but I'm writing this at midnight, so it's pretty rushed. Sorry about the bad quality of the chapter.

Now, I'm not very experienced with contests, in the anime or the games, so excuse me if any contest chapters seem a little not-so-good. And yes, Jenny does resemble Zoey from the show a lot. And also, the only episodes with a contest that I've ever seen are those two at the start of the Diamond and Pearl season, where Dawn participates in her first contest. I based this chapter a lot around those episodes, although I hope that you all still find it interesting anyway.

Next time, we'll head back into the eyes of Jaden, so you'll have to wait for the final. Oh well.

I'll see you all soon, and don't forget to review, as well as enter names in my competition.


	23. Fight of the Future

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys, it's me!

Now, this chapter is from the perspective of Jaden, so you'll have to wait for the Contest Finals. At the start there is another surprise.

Now, on with the story!

**0000000000000000000000000**

Shadows were a permanent accessory in the Nuclear Canyon. The sun simply couldn't penetrate its depths. Five kilometres down, the only way to get to the bottom was by flying on a pokemon's back. Unfortunately, due to the risks involved in flying down such a deep distance, this was strictly forbidden. At the top there was a small lookout, but it was small and unstable, and not many people risked standing there just to look down a hole.

However, unlike many people seemed to think, it was possible to get a permit for flying. Not many people had one, and the people who did often had extremely good connections. And Team Epsilon had very good connections indeed. And so, a secret base had been built at the very bottom, and was the most secure place that they could imagine for. No one would think of looking at the bottom of the deepest canyon in the world, where even the sun doesn't shine.

Inside the base, Epsilon Admin Gamma was once again reporting to his leader. Omega was sitting on a throne in his office. Even though he was talking to Gamma, the chair was facing backwards, and the dark leader was watching surveillance clips of a teenager battling a man in a mask on a giant TV mounted on the wall.

"Our latest reports say that the boy is heading south of Daskon City," said Gamma nervously. Beads of sweat ran down his cheeks, and his hands were shaking slightly. Omega was known to explode into fits of anger for no apparent reason.

"Very well. You have done good, Gamma. It is indeed a shame that I cannot say the same for Alpha. That was a foolish decision of his, destroying our base. No matter, though, he has been punished. Pray that you do not fail like he did."

"Of course, Sir."

"And do you have your men in place to steal the Knowledge Pendant?"

"Yes, Sir. The Knowledge Pendant will be yours very soon, My Lord. My men arrived in Nasbite Village yesterday."

"Very good. You may go."

Gamma breathed a mental sigh of relief. Omega was frightening in the extreme. As he left the room, he heard Omega speak once more.

"Do not fail me, Gamma."

**000000000000000000000000000000**

Sunlight shone through the trees, and a nice aroma hung in the air. Jaden felt like he was in paradise as he walked through the forest, watching the pokemon in the bushes run around and have fun.

Erik was no longer with him, the two having split up at the Crossroads, Erik turning left towards Metrosan City, and Jaden turning right towards Amonis Town. Thus, Jaden was all alone, except for his pokemon, and they were all the company he needed.

Soon, the trees ended, the forest behind him, and he was walking through fields, and over hard ground. All was fine, however; he had not a care in the world.

As he walked over the hills, he became aware of a strange smell, which stood out amongst all the others. The smell of smoke and fire. And of sausages.

_Someone must have a campfire up ahead, _he thought. Before long, he came across a large circle of small, reddish-orange rocks, with a metre or so between each rock. Inside the circle was a campfire, and next to the campfire was an old woman, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Her head was bowed, staring deep into the dancing, orange flames.

Content to leave her be, Jaden continued on his path. As he passed the circle, the woman's arm snapped straight, pointing straight at him, though she didn't look up or move her head.

"Stop!" she cried. The woman had a rich, clear voice, and it rang out loudly. "Come within the circle, Jaden."

Jaden was shocked. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

The woman smiled. "I see everything. I foresaw your arrival, as well."

"That didn't really answer my question," replied Jaden warily. This woman was a bit odd.

"No, it didn't. You're a clever one, Jaden."

"How do you know my name?" he repeated. The woman raised her head, and he gasped. Her eyes were pure white. She was blind.

Smiling mysteriously, she answered, "I already told you Jaden. I see everything. Now, come into the circle."

Cautiously, Jaden stepped into the ring of stones, ready to leap back at any time. He had a strange feeling about this old woman.

"That's better," she sighed.

"How did you know that I moved into the circle?" he asked.

Once again, she gave her smile. "How many times do I have to tell you? I see everything."

"Would you please stop saying that!" he said. "Give me a straight answer."

"That was a straight answer. I see everything. Even," she said dramatically, "your future."

Jaden stared at her. "You can tell the future?"

She shook her head. "Tell, no. See, yes."

Her constant talk of seeing was beginning to get on Jaden's nerves. "Do you mean that you wouldn't be able to tell me if you knew?"

Again, the smile decorated her face. Then it disappeared. "Take my hand," she said suddenly. Jaden was instantly on guard.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just do it, boy!" The woman snapped. Reluctantly, Jaden reached out and allowed her to take hold of his hand. The second they touched, she jerked her hand back.

"It's you!" she said. "You, the Chosen One!"

"What?" Jaden laughed. He couldn't help it, the idea was so absurd. "I'm not Chosen; I'm just a regular guy."

"That's what you think!"

"What?" Jaden said again.

"I know who you are, Jaden. And I know where you come from!"

"That's impossible!" gasped Jaden. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I see everything!"

"Stop saying that!" said Jaden. This woman was really beginning to disturb him. How could she know where he came from? No-one except Professor Palm knew, not even Sammy or Erik. Palm had warned him not to tell anyone, and he had taken that warning very seriously.

"You're not from this world. Face it, Jaden, you're Chosen."

"No, I'm not. Now, tell me how you really know this! Who are you?"

"I've already told you! Listen, boy, use your ears! I see everything! And I am known as the Blind Oracle to the foolish commoners."

Jaden was silent. Was the woman telling the truth? As he argued with himself, the Oracle smiled and held up a pokeball.

"What do you say to testing out your strength?"

Jaden grinned. "Now you're talking my language."

They stood opposite each other across the clearing. Despite being blind, the Oracle could walk around and step over things, as if she could see. Also, despite her age, she was obviously quite fit and active. Throwing a pokeball in the air, she cried out, "Go, Slowking!"

A pink pokemon appeared, walking on its hind legs. Around its neck was a red and white frill, and on its head was a huge grey crown, with a red jewel set into it. Jaden replied by sending out Merlin.

"Merlin, Calm Mind!"

Merlin closed its eyes, glowing purple as it concentrated on maxing out its offensive and defensive powers.

"Ha! Slowking, Zen Headbutt."

Slowking charged at Merlin, who set up a Reflect to lessen the power of the attack. To Jaden's surprise, Slowking barged right through, sending Merlin hurtling through the air.

"What power!" muttered Jaden. "It went straight through that Reflect like it wasn't even there!"

Merlin teleported right behind Slowking, and cracked it across the back of the head with a Thunder Punch, before sending it flying with Psychic. The Oracle smirked.

"Disable all of its moves!"

Slowking's eyes blazed red, and Merlin was trapped by its psychic power. The match turned into a battle of will, as each pokemon struggled to triumph over the other.

"Merlin, use Protect to block it!"

But it was no good. Slowking's Disable technique rendered the Protect useless, as Merlin was unable to summon the force-field. Suddenly, Jaden had a brain-wave.

"Merlin, hover as high as you can into the air now!"

Merlin obeyed, and in a matter of seconds was high above their heads. Jaden took his eyes off Merlin and looked at Slowking, who was beginning to have visible trouble maintaining the Disable at such a distance. Suddenly, Slowking's eyes returned to normal, and the restriction was gone.

"Merlin, Teleport!"

Merlin appeared on the ground, right next to Slowking, and punched it again with a fist of electricity. Slowking yowled in pain, and dropped to one knee. Jaden grinned.

"Now, finish it off with Shadow Ball!"

Merlin began charging, but just before it could launch the attack, the energy dissipated into nothing, and Merlin was stuck down by some invisible force. The Kadabra fell to the ground, and fainted.

"No way, what happened?" Jaden was baffled. To him, it looked like Merlin had fainted for no reason at all.

"Always, always, ALWAYS be mindful of every possibility!" said The Blind Oracle sharply. "That Future Sight cut right through you."

_Future Sight, of course! How could we have been so dumb? _Jaden thought. Facing the Oracle, he said to her, "Thank-you for your time. I must hurry on and heal my pokemon. You are a very good trainer."

"Wait!" she cried. The flames in the campfire flared up, and Jaden fell back in surprise. Feeling rather foolish on the ground, he looked up to see the Oracle above him. Her white eyes were shining, she looked possessed. In a deep voice she began to speak.

"The Chosen One will rise from nowhere, and rid the world of evil. Blood and bone, fire and water, the Chosen one will deal with all hardships before fighting against the darkness."

The Oracle's eyes faded back to their usual white, and her voice rose back to normal. Looking at him, she spoke once more.

"And so goes the prophecy. It speaks of you, and you alone. Who knows if it will come true or not, but remember this? This will not be an easy journey, and I can't say if you will prevail. Keep your friends close, and your pokemon closer, and you will find what you seek."

"Find what I seek? You mean the man Professor Palm asked me to look for?" asked Jaden.

She shook her head. "I know not."

Jaden shakily got to his feet. "I have to go."

"One last thing!" said the Oracle. Reaching up to her neck, she delicately took hold of a string. Pulling it over her head, she passed it to Jaden. Attached to the string was a wooden cross, about two inches long. Fixed into the cross-section was a shining green diamond, catching the light as he held it up to the sun.

"Behold, the Life Pendant. In that crystal lies the essence of Life itself. This is an ancient artefact, its priceless. Cherish it with your life," said the Oracle.

"Why are you giving this to me?" inquired Jaden. "Should you really just give away something this valuable to the first random that you see?"

"You are not just _some random_," said the Oracle angrily. "You are the Chosen One. The Life Pendant has been searching for its rightful owner for millennia. Now, I sense that it has found it."

Jaden laughed. "Me? What's so special about me? I'm not the Chosen One!"

"Are you certain about that?" said the Oracle mysteriously. Jaden shrugged.

"I don't know what to think anymore," he said.

"Let the Life Pendant show you the way," replied the Oracle. "Now, go. Be gone!"

Jaden turned and ran, slipping the Life Pendant over his head as he did so. The Pendant bounced against his chest as he ran.

Two hundred metres away, he stopped and turned. The campfire was clearly visible, as was the ring of rocks, but somehow, the Oracle was nowhere to be seen.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000**

That night, Jaden sat next his fire, thinking over what the Oracle had said. As he thought, he became aware of something, another presence. He stood up, and looked into the giant tree that he was camped under. Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from one of the branches, fifty metres up, and flew through the air towards him.

It was a girl, around his age. As she hurtled through the air, she did a quadruple backflip, and landed on the ground, on one knee, her left hand high in in the air behind her, like a ninja. The impact from her landing cracked the ground.

"I challenge you, Jaden, and no isn't an answer! Prepare to lose to me, Kara!"

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Man, the Blind Oracle sure does like going on about the Chosen One, doesn't she? But is Jaden really the one she was thinking of? You'll all just have to wait and see!

Next time, Sammy battles Jenny in the Nasbite Village Contest Final. Afterwards, she runs into a nasty, familiar face... But who could it be?

And with Kara, I know I said two chapters ago that she wasn't a ninja, but now she is.

Well, I guess I'll see you all next time I write a chapter. I've got new plans for ANOTHER story, adding to my list. So far I've got Aura Adventure, Yu-Gi-Oh Dueling Destiny, Dragon Ball X, and now my new one, which I'll finish writing tomorrow. All the others are cancelled.


	24. The Knowledge Pendant

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

YES! Finally, I have updated! After three weeks I have continued the journey of Jaden and his friends! Mwahahahahahahaha!

Once again, I am sorry for not updating. What with my grandparents and problems with my computer, I haven't had time to start writing. Until now.

First of all, good news. This is a long weekend. And so is next weekend. And the weekend after that is two weeks long because it is the school holidays. And I promise that these holidays won't be like last holidays, where I updated twice the whole time. This time, I'm going to update more, though it won't be all Aura Adventure.

As you know, Sammy has entered the Nasbite Contest, and has progressed to the Grand Final. Now she must defeat Jenny, a fellow co-ordinator who blitzed all the competition. Who will win? Find out right now!

By the way, the contest will only take up part of the chapter. What will happen next? Find out now!

**000**

"Alright, are you ready for your match against Jenny?" asked Shadess.

Sammy nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this."

"Remember, Contests aren't like normal battles. It's just as important to remain stylish as to do damage to your opponent."

"I know, I know, I'm in the final, aren't I?" said Sammy impatiently. She just wanted to get out and do the Contest. All this waiting around wasn't helping her nerves.

"Only five minutes to go," said Shadess. As she looked up, Jenny came into the waiting room, and walked over to them.

"Hi Sammy, Shadess."

"Hi Jenny," they repeated in unison. Jenny smirked, then turned to Sammy.

"Good luck out there. Make sure you give it your all."

"You too. Don't hold back," agreed Sammy, smiling.

A siren rang, making all three of them jump. Sammy and Jenny looked at each, and walked together to the stage door.

When they reached the stage, they split, Sammy heading right and Jenny heading left. When the two girls reached their end of the stage, they turned and faced each other.

"I'm ready for a good match," said Sammy.

"You'll get one," replied Jenny. As they spoke, Shadess squeezed into the front row of the stands.

"Go, Ice!" Jenny's Glaceon landed on the stage.

"It's your turn, Scythe!" Sammy's Scyther leaped out of its pokeball.

The timer started counting down from five minutes. Scythe did a double somersault in the air, and landed with an X-Scissor on Ice's head. Ice flinched, and its style bar on the screen went down. Jenny gritted her teeth.

"You show them, Ice! Avalanche!"

Snow swirled around the freezing pokemon, and collapsed towards Scythe, who was buried under the wave. Its style bar also fell, more than Ice's had. It was now about three quarters full. The timer reached four minutes.

Ice ran over the layer of snow on the stage, where Scythe was breaking free of the blanket. It got out just in time, dodging Ice's attack, and managed to hit the Glaceon with an Aerial Ace followed up by a Fury Cutter. Ice's style bar fell to below half.

"Quick, use Ice Beam!"

As the attack formed around Ice's mouth, Scythe charged up a Razor Wind. Both pokemon released the energy at the same moment, and they collided in mid-air. To Sammy's dismay, the wind that Scythe had conjured was frozen and redirected back at Scythe. The bug was knocked to the ground, where it lay shivering.

"Now, Scythe, get back up and use Quick Attack!"

Scythe struggled to get back to its feet, and flew quickly at Ice, who stopped it in its tracks with an Icy Wind. Scythe's style bar fell to one-eighth, and the timer reached one minute.

"Come on, you can do it!"

"Use Blizzard!"

A massive storm of ice and snow blew up, surrounding the two girls and the entire crowd watching. Jenny squinted her eyes to see through the storm, and gasped.

Not a single bit of the Blizzard had hurt Scythe, who was blocking every piece with its sharp arms.

"How is it moving so quickly?" wondered Jenny. Then she realised. "It's using Agility!"

"That's right! Now, Scythe, win this match with Silver Wind!"

Scythe vibrated its wings, and dust blew out, drifting over to Ice at incredible speeds. The timer reached zero at the exact same time that the Silver Wind hit Ice. Too late.

"Jennifer Terringdale is the winner of the Nasbite Contest!" called the announcer. As the crowd clapped and cheered, Sammy ran up to Jenny.

"You were awesome!" she cried.

"So were you. If we had a bit more time, I would have lost. That was one strong Silver Wind," smiled Jenny.

Soon after, Jenny was presented with a Contest Ribbon, which she placed in a case with two others. After the presentation, Sammy, Shadess and Jenny took a stroll around town. As they walked, they talked about pokemon, and their accomplishments. Jenny was amazed to hear that Sammy and Shadess had both competed in the Titanium Cup.

"Wow, you're both amazing."

"You beat me, you're pretty good too," answered back Sammy, grinning.

"Yeah, but if the timer hadn't have gone down then I would have lost."

"What's that noise?" said Shadess, raising her head to the sky.

"What noise?" asked Sammy.

"I hear it too. Someone's shouting," said Jenny. As they ran towards the source, they saw a battle in place, between an old man dressed in a blue robe and two men in black outfits. To the old man's back was an ancient temple. It was severely damaged, and as far as Sammy could tell, it was because of the two men.

"Come on, we have to help," she said, darting nearer. As she drew closer, one of the men heard her, and turned to face the new threat. Then he groaned, and Sammy recognised him. Her mind flashed back to the day before, when she thought she had seen two men she thought she knew. Now she remembered where she knew them from. It was none other than Ned and Kelly, the two Team Epsilon goons that she had battled in Daskon City.

"It's you!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Not you again! Why do you brats always show up when we don't need you?" Ned mumbled.

"Yeah. The boss sent us out to steal some precious amulet thing, and you come along. This was our chance to redeem ourselves after you made a fool of us _twice_, and now you're going to ruin it again! Can't we do one criminal act in peace?" complained Kelly.

"No! Now get out of here, and leave these people in peace!" retaliated Sammy.

Ned smiled menacingly. "What if we don't? After all, I don't think you could beat us this time."

"What do you mean?" asked Sammy.

"Who are these people?" asked Jenny. Shadess answered.

"They work for Team Epsilon. I remember them from when I was a captive."

"What do you mean, we wouldn't be able to defeat you?" asked Sammy. "We had no trouble the last two times."

"Yes, but now we have these new pokemon that the boss gave us. I doubt you could beat them," sneered Kelly.

"Who's your boss? Alpha?" demanded Shadess.

A shadow fell over Kelly's face, and it tightened. "General Alpha was...punished. He should recover from his injuries soon enough."

"Who was he punished by?"

Ned shrugged. "Who knows? Anyway, we're taking orders from Lady Delta. She's our boss now."

Jenny hid a smile. "Do you think they know how much information they're giving us?" she whispered. Ned overheard.

"We're not giving away information!" he snapped. "And anyway, soon you'll be tied up in front of Delta, so it won't matter how much you know. She doesn't go easy on prisoners."

Kelly laughed. "You guys are in for a world of hurt. Starting now! Go, Dusclops!"

"You too, Sudowoodo!"

Both of them threw strange black balls into the air. As the Sudowoodo and Dusclops appeared, Sammy gulped. Both were strong pokemon, and would be a force to be reckoned with.

"I choose you, XarXar!"

"Get on out there, Leaf!"

"Win this, Absol!"

The three pokeballs soured through the air as the pokemon appeared. XarXar the Natu, Leaf the Leafeon and Shadess' Absol all jumped straight into battle. Leaf caught Sudowoodo straight in the face with a Giga Drain, while Absol and XarXar took on Dusclops together. Ned and Kelly just smiled.

"Sudowoodo, Hammer Arm!"

"Dusclops, Shadow Punch!"

Leaf was thrown backwards by the force of the Hammer Arm. Absol and XarXar were both struck by the Shadow Punch, and fell back.

Sammy grimaced. _These morons are a lot stronger now that they have some properly trained pokemon. How can we beat them? Of course! The pokemon might be strong, but the trainers aren't._

Jenny took command. "Leaf, use Synthesis."

Leaf absorbed the light from the sun, and was fully healed by its rays. XarXar healed with Recover, and Absol hadn't been hurt much by the Ghost attack.

"Now, Psychic!" cried Sammy. Dusclops held its head in pain as it was hit by the telekinetic waves, and Sudowoodo fainted when it was hit by a Razor Leaf. Finally, Absol knocked out by a Shadow Ball from Absol.

"NO! How is this possible? Even with our new, strong pokemon we still lost!" cried Ned.

"Shut up, idiot," said Kelly. "Don't forget, the boss gave us that super pokemon to use if we got in trouble, remember?"

Ned laughed. "Of course, I remember now." He reached to his pocket, where there was another black pokeball. Tossing it high into the air, he released a Machamp. It swung its four arms at Absol, knocking it out.

"HAHAHA! Try beating this!" yelled Kelly.

Thinking fast, Shadess recalled her Absol, and sent out Drapion. At the same time, Jenny swapped Leaf for a Nidoran M and a Nidoran F.

"OK, Prince and Princess. Beat that thing! Poison Sting!"

Prince and Princess both opened their mouths and sent hundreds of poison barbs at Machamp. It cried in pain when they hit, but the attacks didn't do much damage.

"Drapion, Dark Pulse!"

Drapion sent a beam of dark energy at Machamp. It didn't make much of a mark on the fighting pokemon, but it did stumble backwards.

"Peck, XarXar!"

The small psychic bird plummeted down towards Machamp, stabbing with its sharp beak. Machamp roared at the super effective attack.

"Now, hold it in place with your psychic powers!"

XarXar's eyes glowed purple, and Machamp was held fast by the invisible restraints. Jenny took the chance to command her pokemon.

"Both of you, Poison Sting now!"

Prince and Princess fired another wave of poison barbs at Machamp. This time, it really felt it, weakened as it was. In its rage, it began to fight back against its bonds. XarXar was finding it harder and harder to keep it in place, when suddenly the small bird turned a pure, shining white. Bigger and bigger it grew, until the light faded to reveal a Xatu standing in its place. With one single Night Shade, it had Machamp plummeting to the ground, unconscious.

"Say what? How could that happen? How could it evolve?" whimpered Ned.

"Damn, this can't happen! Go, Misdreavus!" yelled Kelly.

"Oh, no you don't!" cried Shadess. In a flash, Drapion knocked out the Misdreavus, as well as the Golbat that Ned sent out a moment later. Kelly grabbed at Ned's arm.

"Time to go!"

The two of them were gone in a flash, running out of the town's exit into the forest beyond. As the trainers called back their pokemon, the old man walked up to them.

"I don't know how to thank you! Those awful men were trying to steal the Knowledge Pendant. If that happened, the results would be catastrophic!"

"What's your name?" asked Jenny.

"Sakin." He beckoned into the temple. "Follow me."

Sammy, Jenny and Shadess followed Sakin inside, where he led them to a display case. Inside was a wooden cross, about two inches long. It had a blue gem set into it. Sakin took it out of the case and turned to Sammy.

"Please. Will you take this with you? It is the only way to protect our village from the bandits trying to raid us. I know that I can trust you."

Sammy was stunned. "Do you really have the authority to just give this away to me?"

Sakin smiled. "My family has protected this for generations. No one has more authority over it than me. Unfortunately I have never had a son or daughter, thus I need an heir to pass this along to."

Sammy took the Pendant and slipped the string holding the cross over her head.

"I accept," she said.

Sakin smiled again, and he placed a hand on her forehead. "Then I anoint you the new master of the Knowledge Pendant. Wearing it will grant you stronger memory and will make you smarter and more open to information."

Later on that day, Jenny said her farewells to Sammy and Shadess. She was travelling south to other towns and cities, to participate in other Contests. Sammy and Shadess were heading north, Shadess finally returning to her gym, and Sammy going home to see her Father, Professor Palm. Sammy looked at her new Xatu and smiled.

"What a day!"

**000**

Done! This chapter didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would be. I know that the Contest was only a small bit at the start, but it's hard to write a full chapter about one Contest match, as they only go for five minutes.

And XarXar evolved! I didn't plan that when I started writing, it just happened.

By the way, Ned and Kelly are among my favourite characters. They're like the Jessie, James and Meowth of this story. They're flexible, you can do many things with them. They can also provide a small amount of comedy relief. And, if you'll remember, they give away a lot of juicy information about Epsilon accidently. That's my way of telling you a bit more about that organisation.

Next time, Jaden battles the strange girl, Kara. Who will win, and why was Kara following Jaden in the first place? Find out next time, on Pokemon: Aura Adventure!


	25. The Ninja Strikes

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Be amazed! It is I, Animaster21, who has written another chapter of my creation, Pokemon Aura Adventure! Mwahaha Mwahahahaha Mwahaha! Are you ready for this thrilling segment of the story, in which the main character, Jaden, battles against the secretive and mysterious girl, Kara, who made a stunning entrance into his campsite? If so, then prepare yourself, for a journey awaits! If not, then...um...uh...go do something else. Yeah.

Oh yeah, sorry about the wait. Extremely severe case of Writer's Block. Don't worry, though, I'm back.

**000**

The Ninja Strikes

Jaden stared at the girl who had landed out of the tree in front of him. She had dark purple hair, which came down to her shoulders, and silver eyes. She wore a white shirt and had a hood in the shape of a Gyarados head. Her face poked out of the mouth-hole. The face was grinning evilly.

"So, let's go!" she shouted, reaching for her pokeballs.

"Wait!" cried Jaden, holding his hands up. "Let's get a few things straight first. Who are you?"

"My name is Kara, and I'm destined to battle and defeat you, Jaden. Happy now, or do you want me to tell you my life story? Hmm, I'm hungry. After I win, I might have some ice-cream."

Jaden stared. "Alright, then," he said slowly. "Three on three?"

"Whatever."

"OK! I choose you, Merlin!"

The Kadabra burst from its pokeball, and levitated a metre off the ground.

"You show 'em, Lopunny."

A giant rabbit on two legs popped out of Kara's pokeball. Merlin and Lopunny stared each other down.

"Lopunny, use Jump Kick!"

Jaden gasped as Lopunny used its huge ears to propel its body at Merlin. Merlin teleported out of the way of Lopunny's swinging leg at the last second.

"That was close," he breathed. "Quick, use Shock Wave!"

Merlin charges up some electricity and shot it at Lopunny. It took the attack, flinching, and fell to one knee.

"Mirror Coat."

Lopunny stood back up and created an identical burst of electricity, only larger. Jaden knew that Mirror Coat reflected an attack straight back at the user, twice as powerful.

"Protect!" he screamed frantically.

Merlin threw up a barrier just in time. Strong as the shield was, though, the Mirror Coat shattered through and blasted Merlin. It cried in pain, and fell over.

"Recover!"

Merlin glowed white, and it stood back up, all injuries vanishing. Jaden grimaced at the Lopunny.

_Holy crap, that thing is strong. How am I ever gonna defeat it?_

"Flash!"

Merlin formed a glowing ball of blinding light, and threw it into the air, where it stayed, hovering above the field. Lopunny averted its eyes, allowing Merlin to teleport in front of it. Lopunny was blown back against the giant tree that Kara been hiding in by a Fire Punch.

It stood back up just in time to dodge the Psycho Cut that Merlin sent its way.

"It's time! Lopunny, use Strength, and then Dizzy Punch!"

Lopunny grabbed Merlin, and smashed its head against the ground, then threw it into the air. Finally, it jumped up and punched Merlin right in the square down there.

Merlin clutched its groin and groaned as it hit the ground. Scrambling to its feet, it staggered around, trying to walk off the pain in its lower abdomen. The Flash faded away, Merlin losing concentration.

_So that's what makes the pokemon dizzy when they get hit by Dizzy Punch,_ thought Jaden. _Well, I can't say I blame them._

Lopunny was rolling around laughing at the sight of Merlin stumbling all over the place. Merlin didn't like that, so it raised its hand at Lopunny.

"Lopunny, use Light Screen now!" cried Kara, but it was too late. Lopunny grabbed at its head, as the waves of pain from Merlin's Psychic attack hit it. The rabbit's eyes rolled back into its head as it tried to fight off the attack, but to no avail. Jaden looked at Kara, who was trimming her nails.

"Aren't you going to help your pokemon escape from the attack?" called Jaden.

Kara looked up from her nails, saw Lopunny writhing on the ground, and started so violently that she almost fell over.

"Whoops," she said. "Lost track of the battle. Anyway, Lopunny, use Baton Pass!"

Lopunny's strength failed just before it could use the technique. Kara returned the unconscious pokemon to its pokeball.

"You did well, Lopunny. When this is over, I'm gonna give you some ice-cream. Now, go Ludicolo!

A dancing Mexican pokemon jumped out of a pokeball. Ludicolo took one look at Merlin and bounced over to it, keeping a steady beat. When it reached Merlin, who was exhausted, it gave it a light shove. Merlin toppled to the ground, totally out of it. Kara laughed.

"That was easy, wasn't it Ludicolo?"

Ludicolo gurgled, dancing about in circles. Jaden grimaced, and sent out Jaws. As with every opponent who saw the red Gyarados, Kara gasped.

"Where did you get that?" she cried.

"Why does everyone ask me that? It's not _that_ impressive," muttered Jaden. "Now," he said louder. "see if you can beat this next attack! Jaws, use Ice Fang!"

Jaws' fangs turned to ice, and it writhed its serpentine body straight at Ludicolo. The dancing pokemon's eyes boggled right out of its skull as it noticed the Gyarados blasting straight at it, and screamed as the teeth closed over its head. Jaws gave Ludicolo a few shakes, digging the freezing fangs in, before swinging its head, letting go of Ludicolo as it did so. Ludicolo flew through the air, landing hard on the ground. Kara gritted her teeth.

"Quick Ludicolo, use Uproar!"

Ludicolo opened its mouth wide, and started to sing. It was extremely loud, and Jaws roared as the sound pierced its eardrums. Ludicolo danced over to it, sound still emitting from its mouth.

"Alright, Ludicolo, Astonish!"

Ludicolo jumped high into the air in front of Jaws' face. The Uproar stopped, and Ludicolo gave a loud yell. Jaws recoiled, smacking its head against the giant tree.

"Jaws, Dragon Breath!"

The Gyarados opened its mouth, and a stream of green fire poured out, covering Ludicolo. Kara's eyes widened.

"Ludicolo, Mist, now!"

Jaden cursed as a crap-load of mist materialised onto the battlefield. Both trainers had their line of sight cut off, it was so thick. Squinting to see through the fog, Jaden attempted to command his pokemon. Seeing a dim shadow in the dense air, he called out.

"Hyper Beam!"

Jaws charged up a massive yellow beam, and launched it at the shadow. Kara snickered.

"You should know that Normal type moves don't effect Ghost types, Jaden."

"What are you talking about? Ludicolo isn't a Ghost type!"

Kara laughed long and loud. "No, but Sableye is!"

Jaden gasped as the fog cleared to reveal Ludicolo gone, and a Sableye in its place. Under cover of the Mist, Kara had returned the Mexican to its pokeball, and sent out Sableye to replace it.

"No way!" cried Jaden.

"Shadow Claw!"

Sableye dashed at Jaws with blinding speed. Jaws only just managed to dodge, and opened its mouth wide. Out of the gaping cave came a massive stream of water. It crashed into Sableye , drenching it. The ghost leaped at Jaws, slashing its claws once again. This tiime, they connected, and three large gashes opened up on Jaws' neck.

"Oh no! Jaws, are you OK?" asked Jaden worriedly.

Jaws nodded, and squirmed back up. Kara had taken the oppurtunity to call Sableye back. Ludicolo was once again on the field.

"Have a rest anyway, Jaws. I'll need you later," said Jaden, calling back Jaws. "You're up, Sonyk!"

The small, blue Riolu jumped out. It assumed a battle stance, facing Ludicolo.

"_My turn,"_ it said. Sonyk ran at the cactus, and gave it a Force Palm to the face. Ludicolo yelled, and fell over, writhing in pain. Jaden looked over at Kara.

"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows," she sung, lost in her own thoughts again.

"Snap out of it, Kara!" he called. She shook her head to clear her mind, and turned back to the battle.

"Alright, use Surf!"

Ludicolo's giant mouth opened, and massive volumes of never-ending water poured out. Water covered the ground, surging over to Sonyk. Luckily, Sonyk could swim. It cut through the water at Ludicolo.

"Return!"

Sonyk swung its arm, smashing its fist into Ludicolo. The green pokemon was thrown back, and Sonyk jumped at it. Just before it reached the cactus, Ludicolo was surrounded by red light, and disappeared. Kara had returned it to its pokeball. Sableye was back. The water soaked into the ground.

"Damn! None of Sonyk's moves can effect Ghost types. Come back for now," said Jaden. Sonyk returned to its ball, and Jaws erupted out.

"Go! Twister!"

Jaws swirled in circles, creating a whirlwind that blew over to Sableye, snatching it up. The small Ghost type was flung around, and it was finally hurled out the side to hit the tree. It fell to the ground, coughing.

"You can do it, Sableye! Fight back! Nightshade!" shouted Kara.

Sableye's gem eyes glowed red, and Jaws fell to the ground as it's mind was attacked.

"Now, Zen Headbutt!"

Sableye launched its body into the air, its head glowing pink. Jaws was hit in the throat, in the same spot as the cuts from earlier on. Jaws couldn't handle it any more, and it lost its temper.

"Alright, Jaws, use Hydro Pump!"

Jaws' mouth opened even further before, and a raging torrent of water exploded out, crashing into Sableye. The ghost fainted from the strain.

Kara gasped. "Oh no! Now I've only got one more pokemon left, and its already injured. Oh well. I choose you, Ludicolo. Do your best! Start off with Nature Power!"

Because of the rocky terrain around them, the Nature Power turned into an Earthquake. Jaws was thrown around back and forth, as well as Jaden.

"Woah, that's one strong Earthquake," he said. Across from him, Kara had perfect balance.

Jaws fainted. Its heavy body crashed to the ground, and the Earthquake stopped.

"Return, Jaws," said Jaden. He pulled out his last pokeball. "OK, Sonyk, its time for us to dance."

"_Let's rock and roll!"_

"Quick Attack!"

Ludicolo fell back from the impact. Sonyk followed up with another Force Palm. Ludicolo got back to its feet, and used Uproar again. While Sonyk was busy covering its ears, Ludicolo punched it in the face. Sonyk fell back. Both pokemon stood, just in front of their trainers, and stared at each other. Suddenly, both trainer's gave their commands at the same time.

"Sonyk, use Return, don't hold back!

"Brick Break, full power!"

Sonyk's hand glowed white, and Ludicolo's did the same. Both lunged forwards and swung their arms. The fists connected in mid-air, just like when Sonyk and Cacturn battled in the Titanium Cup semi-finals. Sonyk and Ludicolo both grunted and sweated, each trying to break the other's defences and connect their punches. Finally, they overloaded and there was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, both still stood, panting, bent over.

"Come one, Sonyk, don't give in."

"You can do it, Ludicolo."

For a full minute, they stared. And then they both fell, Ludicolo hitting the ground half a second before Sonyk. Kara looked up at Jaden.

"Ludicolo fell first," she said. "You win, Jaden."

**000**

Hooray! I've finally finished! I'm so happy! I haven't updated in about 6 weeks, or more. I can't even remember. I'm so sorry that I didn't update beforw, I couldn't get the motivation to finish the half-finished chapter until now.

On that subject, I've decided to introduce a new policy. From now on, if I miss a week, then I'll do that chapter the next week as well as my normal one. And if I miss those ones then I'll do three the week after. No matter what, there will be a chapter for every week, even if it is a week or two later than it should be (if that makes sense).

Next time, Jaden and Kara get visited by an unwelcome visitor. Will the escape? Find out next week.


	26. Jagged Edges

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys! First up, this has been the third week since I last updated. This means that I owe you three chapters. BUT...only one of them will be an Aura Adventure chapter. I have other fics I need to update. So, I'm gonna do one Aura Adventure, one Yu-Gi-Mon GX and one Dragon Ball X. Hopefully, I'll get them all done this weekend, I have nothing else to do.

Second of all...come to think of it, there is no second of all. Oh yeah. Sorry about the wait.

**000**

Jaden ran forwards, helping Sonyk to its feet. Kara was doing the same to Ludicolo.

"_You did great, Sonyk," _said Jaden, through their mind link.

"_Thanks, Jaden. It was tough, but we did it,"_ replied Sonyk, exhausted.

"_Have a good rest. You earned it."_

"_Ok."_

Jaden returned the small, blue pokemon to its pokeball. He heard Kara talking to Ludicolo, but couldn't hear the words. She was smiling. He thought he could make out the word ice-cream. A minute later, she returned it to its ball. Jaden walked up to her and held out his hand.

"You're a good trainer," he said. Kara looked at his hand, and shook it.

"Thanks," she said. "You too."

"Wow," said Jaden wearily. "I'm tired after that match. I'm gonna get some food. Want some?"

He walked over to his pack, lying beside his tent a few metres away. The campfire had been put out by Ludicolo's Surf, but luckily the pack and tent were still dry. Jaden unzipped the bag and rummaged around, pulling out a few slices of bread and some other ingredients. Walking back to the remnants of the campfire, he pulled out his last pokeball.

"Go, Flare," he announced. "See if you can light this back up."

Flare wagged its forked tail, and leaned its head over the wet wood. Searing hot flames poured out of its mouth, igniting the branches and twigs. Within five minutes, Jaden was cooking a stew that Shadess had taught him. By now, Kara had joined him, and the two were chatting while Jaden stirred the stew. The young girl had taken off her Gyarados hoodie and put her backpack next to Jaden's. Her silver hair reached down to her shoulders. Flare was curled up by the tent, taking a nap.

"I'm a wanderer," Kara explained. "For about a year now, I've been travelling all over Bronko. My pokemon help me out." Kara paused. "They're my only friends."

"Do you have a family?" asked Jaden.

"My Mother died when I was young. I never met my Father. Luckily, I was taken in and trained by one of the best ninjas in the world," answered Kara.

"Who was that?"

"A fantastic woman. Her name is Janine, the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City in Kanto. She is my family now."

"You know Janine?" exclaimed Jaden. Kara looked at him.

"Yeah. Do you?"

Jaden shook his head. "No, but I know of her. What about her Father, Koga? Do you know him too?"

"I met him once. He was a bit eccentric. Then again, so am I."

Jaden laughed, and started pouring stew into some bowls. Suddenly he realised that he had no water to drink with his dinner.

"Are there any rivers around here?" he asked Kara. She nodded.

"There's one about a kilometre away."

Reaching over to the tent, Jaden grabbed a bucket. He stood up.

"I'll be back soon. I'm going to get some water."

Kara shook her head. "You don't have to go. I'll send Lopunny."

She grabbed Lopunny's ball and sent it out. The rabbit still looked exhausted after the battle, so Kara gave it a quick spray with a Super Potion. Lopunny took the bucket from Jaden and started to walk off.

"Wait!" called Jaden. He looked at the dog sleeping next to the fire. "Flare! Go with Lopunny, and get some exercise."

Flare bounded up and ran after the rabbit. Jaden sat back down, and began to eat. The two of them ate in silence for a minute, before Kara spoke.

"What about you? What was your childhood like?"

Jaden hesitated, and then spoke.

"I used to live in a region far away from here called Australia. Pokemon are rare there, but I loved them anyway. I knew all about them before I came here to start my journey."

Technically, he wasn't lying. Jaden and Professor Palm had decided that this would be the best story to tell, and Jaden wouldn't have to forge too many details. Kara nodded, but then straightened up.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

Jaden shook his head, confused. "No. What's going on?"

Kara gave a slight jerk of her head at some bushes by the side of the campfire, about twenty metres away. "It came from in there," she said.

"Are you sure it's not just a wild pokemon?" asked Jaden.

Kara shrugged. "It could be, but you can never be too sure."

Jaden jumped up. "Let's go see."

"No! It could be dangerous. If there is someone there, they'll get the perfect chance to jump you if you just go waltzing in. Stay here."

Jaden was already halfway there by the time she had finished speaking. He stopped, considering her words, and took a few steps back, not once taking his eyes off the bushes. Then he heard a low chuckle, coming from behind him. Slowly, he turned around to see that Kara had been grabbed from behind. The man was tall, and had an ugly, cruel face, with stubble on his chin. His hair was filthy, and his clothes had several rips and tears in them. Despite the unattractive looks, his eyes were bright and alert. He was holding a large, serrated knife to Kara's throat.

"Don't move," he growled. "Or the girl gets it."

Jaden raised his arms to show that he was co-operating. "What do you want?"

"Money, valuables, the like," answered the man. "And I'm not afraid to use force to get them."

Jaden cursed in his head. _A bandit._

"Who are you?" he asked.

"The name's Dennis, but folks around here just call me Jag."

"Alright, Jag. Take whatever you want, but let Kara go."

Kara's eyes flashed. "I don't need rescuing," she protested.

"Oh, yeah?" sneered Jag.

"Oh, yeah," answered Kara, and she kicked backwards, catching Jag in the shin. He swore, and she took the opportunity to grab the arm holding the knife, and pulled hard over her shoulder, throwing him to the ground. Jag landed hard on his back.

"Bloody little..." he said, clambering back to his feet. The knife had fallen out of his hand and bounced out of reach. Kara faced him confidently, her fists raised.

"Careful, Kara. He's dangerous."

Kara grinned. "Not to me. Stay out of this, you'll only get hurt."

Jag grinned as well, showing off crooked teeth. "You should have paid better attention to your surroundings. Then I wouldn't have been able to sneak up on you."

"I don't need your advice, Jag," said Kara. She dashed forward, planting a fist in his stomach. He staggered backwards, but recovered quickly, and threw a massive punch. Kara only just ducked in time. The punch flew over her head, and she headbutted him in the chin. He managed to grab her arm, but she countered, and punched him in the back of the head.

Jag roared in anger, and spun around to face Kara, throwing wild punches. She blocked a few, but got knocked around a bit. Jaden stepped forward, but she yelled at him to stay back.

"I can handle this," she said.

Dodging a few more hits, she kicked the robber, and put him in an arm-lock. Jag yelled in pain, and twisted out of it. Kara smiled.

"Looks like I'm tougher than you thought, huh?"

Jag responded angrily. "I was watching you guys before. All of your pokemon are wiped; you got no backup, no chance of getting out of this."

Jag rushed forwards, giving Kara a huge shove. She tumbled backwards, and he knelt over her, pulling a second knife out of his pocket. Kara's eyes widened.

"Not your lucky day, is it?" he asked, brandishing the knife in her face. Kara recoiled from his stinking breath. She tried to get up, but Jag was holding her firmly down. "How are you going to get out of this one?"

Kara smiled. All traces of fear were gone, and Jag realised that she was never scared to begin with.

"Oh, I'll get out of it," she said confidently.

Jag frowned. "What are you talking about? I've got you pinned down, with a knife. How could you possibly think that you could escape?"

Kara grinned menacingly. "Because I'm not alone."

Jag was confused, and it took him a few seconds to grasp what she had said. Quickly, he jumped up, spinning to face Jaden, who he thought was about to attack him. But Jaden only smiled and shook his head. He had seen what Jag hadn't.

"It's not me," he said.

Jag's eyes narrowed and he spun back to Kara. He raised the knife, but never got a chance to use it. He suddenly felt a great pain between his legs, and he went cross-eyed. Slowly, the bandit staggered away, holding his crotch. Standing behind him was Lopunny. Kara stood up and dusted herself off.

"Nice Dizzy Punch, Lopunny. Right on target."

Jaden laughed, and hurried forward.

"That was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that? He was twice your size!"

Kara grinned. "Janine taught me."

Jaden started to speak, but was interrupted by Jag, who had fallen to his knees twenty metres away.

"Damn you, you stupid little girl! I'll get you for this!"

Jaden gasped as he realised that Jag was still holding the second knife. The man bought his arm back and spun the knife with deadly accuracy at Kara. Jaden shouted a warning, but it was too late. As if in slow motion, the knife left Jag's hand and started its arc towards the girl. Suddenly, a shadow leaped between them, and the blade was snatched out of mid-air. Jag gasped as Flare landed on its feet, the knife clamped safely between its teeth.

"Good going, Flare! You just saved Kara's life!" praised Jaden.

Flare looked very pleased with itself. Kara smiled at it. Then, she strode over to Jag, who was still crouched on the ground. With a single punch to the head, she knocked him out.

"What do you think we should do with him?" asked Jaden, walking over to stand over the limp body on the ground. Kara grinned, and started tearing off his clothes until he had nothing on but his underwear. Then she dragged him over to the giant tree and tied him to the trunk using a rope from her bag. When she was sure that the rope was tied tight enough, the two young trainers sat back down and began to eat again.

Fifteen minutes later, Jag woke up. Jaden and Kara had just finished off their dinner.

"Oi!" yelled Jag. "Gimme my clothes back, it's bloody freezing!"

Kara sighed. "Oh, shut up!" she shouted. She grabbed one of his socks and walked over to him. Roughly forcing open his mouth, she shoved the sock deep inside.

"There. Now you can't talk. Problem solved," she beamed, happy with her makeshift gag.

Jag's eyes bulged, and he started throwing his head from side to side, trying to spit the sock out.

"EEEEEEEEEEERRRRKKK! MMMMPPPHH CCRRRNNNGGG BREEEEEEEEG!" Incoherent noises started issuing from his mouth. Kara cocked her head to one side.

"What was that?" she asked, pulling the sock out of his mouth.

"I said, I can't breathe!" shouted Jag angrily.

Kara looked thoughtful. "Oh. Whoops," she said stuffing the sock back into his mouth. This time, Jaden noticed, she took care not to choke him.

**000**

The next morning, Jaden and Kara packed up the campsite. Jag was still tied to the tree.

"Should we really just leave him there?" asked Jaden unsurely.

"This is a busy road. Someone's bound to come along and rescue him," she answered.

They left a few minutes later, Jag's angry eyes on their backs. A few hours later they spotted Amonis Town in the distance.

"Finally!" exclaimed Jaden. "I've been travelling for weeks."

Soon they arrived at the entrance to the town. Kara stopped.

"I think this is as far as I need to go," she said. "I've got other places to be."

"Are you sure?" asked Jaden. He had enjoyed her company.

"Yes. We'll meet again one day, Jaden."

She turned to walk away, but Jaden called her back.

"Do you have a Pokegear?" he asked. Kara nodded. "I'll give you my number," he said. "In case something comes up, call me."

Kara nodded again, and they swapped phone numbers. She turned to leave again, but stopped.

"You know, Jaden," she said. "There's something different about you. When I'm around you, I feel something that I've never felt before. Apart from when I'm with my pokemon."

Jaden smiled. "I know what it is," he said. "It's friendship."

Kara smiled back at him, her eyes sparkling. She held out her hand for Jaden to shake, but instead he pulled her into a hug.

"I'll see you around, Kara," he said.

She nodded once more. "Bye, Jaden."

The young ninja turned, and walked back into the wilderness. Soon, she passed out of Jaden's sight and was gone. He smiled, and walked into town.

**000**

An hour later, after healing his pokemon at the Pokemon Centre, he found the Gym. On the door was a picture of an Ariados.

_Well,_ he thought. _This must be a Bug Gym._

Jaden swung open the doors and walked inside. He gasped when he saw the arena. Every wall was covered in silk, and cocoons hung from the ceiling. Jaden gulped when he saw a wasp nest the size of a basketball.

_There must be Beedrill living in that thing, _he thought.

"Who are you?" asked a small voice. Jaden turned and saw a small girl with blue-green hair. She was wearing a yellow T-shirt and a green dress. She couldn't have been more than eight years old.

"I'm Jaden. Do you know who the Gym Leader is?"

The young girl opened her mouth to speak, but another voice got in ahead of her.

"I am."

A man in his early thirties walked into the room through a side door. He was heavily built, with strong looking arms.

"My name's Mark," he said. "And I see you've already met my daughter, Insecta. Are you here to challenge me for the Gym Badge?"

Jaden nodded eagerly. To his surprise, Mark shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I'm afraid that, for today only, I'm not the Gym Leader."

Jaden was confused. "Then who is?"

A giggle echoed throughout the room, and Insecta raised her hand and jumped up and down.

"I am!" she cried happily.

**000**

Surprise! That's right; the Gym Leader is an eight year old girl. Mwahaha, inventing plot twists, my favourite hobby.

Anyway, that's one chapter down. I should have the Yugimon and DBX chapters up by the end of the weekend.

Next time, on Aura Adventure: Sammy and Shadess arrive back in Cleardawn Town. But before Sammy heads back home to Huckleberry Town, Shadess makes one last request before she leaves...

Don't forget to keep on reviewing! I love reviews, and I love constructive criticism. And praise, I love praise.


	27. The Challenger

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

First up, I am SO sorry about the lack of updates. As in, so sorry that I can't even begin to say how sorry I am. Now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the chapter.

**000**

Shadess gave a sigh of relief as she and Sammy walked over the last hill before Cleardawn Town. It had been a long journey, and she hadn't been in her gym for almost two months.

"Finally!" the Gym Leader exclaimed. Sammy grinned.

"Gee, Shadess. I thought that I was the impatient one."

"Shut up," grinned Shadess. "I'm just so glad that I'm back home. It's been a while."

"You're telling me," answered Sammy. "Poor Dad must have gone crazy. He hates it when I'm gone for a long time."

"He misses you that much?" asked Shadess.

"Not just that. He's got this weird idea that I'm gonna get mugged or something."

"But you've got your pokemon for protection."

"Yeah, but you know how Dad's are about their daughters."

Shadess laughed. "Good point. Man, I'm gonna cop a load of crap from all the trainers that have been waiting to challenge the Gym while I was away."

"You'll manage," said Sammy, smiling broadly.

Soon they passed through the gates of the town. Shadess looked around happily.

"Ah, it's good to be back. I remember when I first became Gym Leader here, it felt so foreign. Now it's home."

Suddenly, she was interrupted from her daydream by the sound of her name being called. Turning towards the sound, she saw a, elderly, very short woman standing outside her front gate, bending to pick up the paper.

"Shadess! You're back. You've been the town gossip over the past few weeks. Everyone's been wondering where you'd gone. Someone even said that they saw you in that Titanium Cup thing. Personally, I don't believe that one."

Shadess smiled, winking at Sammy. "Well, Agnes, I'll tell you all about it later. But right now, I need to get back to my Gym. It's been empty for far too long."

"Oh, not as long as you think," said Agnes mysteriously, and tottered back into her house.

"What does she mean?" asked Sammy, confused.

Shadess was equally bemused. "I have absolutely no idea. Let's find out."

They hurried on to the Gym. Along the way, Shadess was halted by many people asking where she'd been. She answered every single one in the same way that she had Agnes. "_I'll tell you later, but I need to get back to my Gym."_ Strangely, every single person gave some sort of hint that the Gym wasn't as deserted as she assumed, and soon, finally, they reached the Gym.

Shadess reached into her pocket and pulled out a key. Then, she slotted it into the door, but instead of turning the key, she frowned.

"What's up?"

"This door," said Shadess. "It's not locked."

Slowly, she took the key back out and opened the door. To their surprise, the interior of the Gym was in spotless condition. Not a single speck of dust could be seen, and the lights were on full.

"What the..." said Shadess.

"Someone's made themselves at home," said Sammy.

"Hang on," Shadess' eyes were drawn to the small table at the side of the room, next to the arena. On it was a small vase, and in the vase were several bright purple flowers. "I recognise that." Suddenly she realised, and a broad grin spread over her face. "No way!"

"What, what is it?" asked Sammy excitedly. Shadess didn't answer, but raised her voice to a shout.

"Come out, I'm home!"

She heard quick footsteps heading her way, and her grin widened even more. She knew that gait. And sure enough, an old, stooped man scurried into the room. His wispy hair was pure white, and he wore perfectly round spectacles.

"Shadess!" he cried, and held out his arms. Shadess stepped forwards and gave him a huge hug. "It's so good to see you again after all these years!"

"I missed you so much, Eugene."

"Eugene?" Sammy's eyes bulged out of her head. "Didn't you used to be the Bronko Champion?"

Eugene looked at her. His eyes, though old, were wise and full of spirit. "Yes, I did indeed. Forty-seven years ago, I believe. Those were the days. I'm retired now, of course. I'm not as young as I once was."

"Still young enough to be a pokemon expert, though, eh Eugene?" beamed Shadess. "After all. You taught me everything I know!"

"Huh?" gasped Sammy. "Eugene was your mentor?"

Shadess nodded, and Sammy gaped.

"Well," said Eugene. "We certainly need to catch up on old times. What do you say we head out and chat over a glass of wine. Oh, that's right, you're too young to drink wine, aren't you?"

"Eugene! I'm twenty two years old; of course I'm allowed to drink wine."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me, I haven't seen you for so long that I forgot your age," chuckled Eugene.

Shadess turned to Sammy. "I'm not trying to get rid of you or anything, but shouldn't you be getting home to your father? I think you'd better head off home, and me and Eugene can go out and catch up."

Suddenly, the voice echoed throughout the room. "Not so fast. First, we battle. I want my Gym Badge."

The three of them tuned in surprise to see a boy in the doorway. He was about sixteen, and wore a black leather jacket with the collar turned up. On his hands were fingerless gloves. He had shoulder-length black hair and green eyes.

"So? Aren't you going to accept? Because according to official rules, a Gym Leader can't turn down a challenge."

Shadess recovered from her momentary shock. "I accept your challenge. Eugene here can be the referee. Oh yeah, Sammy, you might just want to stick around and watch the battle. It should e interesting. Oh yes, what was your name?" she added to the boy.

His voice was cold and harsh. "I'm Randall."

Without another word he walked towards his end of the battle arena. Shadess shot a look at Sammy, as if to say "W_hat's with this guy?" _Sammy shrugged.

"And now, the battle between Randall; the challenger, and Shadess; the Gym Leader, will now begin! Each of you will use three pokemon. The Gym Leader Advantage will not be in place." announced Eugene. Sammy took her place beside the arena.

"I choose you, Absol!"

The disaster pokemon burst from its ball and landed on all fours. Waving its head excitedly, Absol growled a challenge to Randall.

"You're up, Randall. Make your move."

Randall tossed a pokeball into the air and a Gallade appeared. It stared coldly at Absol.

"_Gallade, Gal Gallade!"_ it said.

"OK, Absol! Hit it with Shadow Ball!"

Absol opened its mouth and formed the ball of gooey shadow. Aiming directly at Gallade, it fired, but Gallade didn't move.

"Block it!" ordered Randall.

Gallade raised its arms in an X shape, and the ball splattered into nothing when it hit.

"No way!" gasped Sammy. "That was a super-effective hit, but Gallade didn't even flinch. This guy's good. Be careful, Shadess."

Shadess grimaced. "Alright, Night Slash!"

Absol growled savagely and dashed at Gallade. The spike on the side of its head glowed white, and it swung at Gallade.

The reaction was immediate.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Shadess, losing her cool. "Who _are_ you?"

For Gallade had simply raised an arm and blocked a full-force Night Slash without even trying.

_Man, this thing is incredible. I can't even make a mark on it._

"Alright, Iron Tail!"

Absol jumped into the air at Gallade. Its tail glowed, and the disaster pokemon spun in mid-air, sending its iron-hard tail careering towards Gallade.

Duck, then use Brick Break!"

Gallade moved amazingly fast. Dodging the Iron Tail as if it was moving at a snail's pace, it delivered a bone-shattering punch to Absol's face. The dark type pokemon fainted instantly.

Silence enveloped the Gym. Shadess, Sammy and Eugene all had looks of pure shock on their faces. Gallade had taken out Absol with one move. The silence was broken by a low chuckling.

"Well? What are you going to send out next?" taunted Randall.

"This! Go, Honchkrow!"

"Wow, Shadess. I didn't know you had a Honchkrow," said Sammy excitedly.

"Oh yes, now allow me to demonstrate its power! Aerial Ace!"

Honchkrow's wings turned white, and it swooped down on Gallade, who attempted to duck, but got clipped on the head. It barely seemed to register, however, and retaliated with another Brick Break. Honchkrow only just flapped out of the way.

"That was a little too close for comfort," muttered Shadess. "Now, Steel Wing!"

"Catch it," commanded Randall.

Honchkrow's wings turned to metal, and it flew straight at Gallade, intending to whack its face as the bird flew by. But as Randall ordered it, Gallade caught Honchkrow in its hands.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Oh, no way!" gasped Shadess, as Honchkrow was blasted with electricity. It dropped to the ground, cross-eyed and faintly smoking.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle," said Eugene.

"Return, Honchkrow. You did well," said Shadess.

_Damn! I've only got one pokemon left to take down all three of his. And I'm guessing that they're all as strong as this Gallade. What should I do?_

"Make your move, or forfeit!" called Randall.

"Be quiet. You can do it, Cacturne!"

The cactus burst from its ball, and stared long and hard at Gallade, who replied in kind.

"OK, go! Needle Arm!"

Cacturne punched forwards, and several needles shot off its arm, and miraculously hit Gallade, who flinched violently as the needles pierced its skin.

"Now's your chance! Cotton Spore."

Cacturne pointed a finger at Gallade, and a thick strong of sticky wool shot out and covered Gallade, restricting its movements.

"Don't think you've got the upper hand!" called Randall patronisingly.

"Shut your mouth, Randall. I don't like your attitude."

Randall shrugged. "That's your problem. Now are we battling, or having a conversation? Fury Cutter!"

Gallade, impaired by the Cotton Spore, stumbled over to Cacturne. Despite being slowed severely, it was still very fast and agile. Cacturne was hurled backwards by the force of the hit.

"And again!"

"Oh, no you don't! Cacturne, roll out of the way!"

The cactus quickly twisted over, and the Fury Cutter carved a massive line in the floor.

"Quick! Use Payback!"

Cacturne bounded up, and swung a massive punch at Gallade, who couldn't dodge in time because of the wool still covering it. Gallade cried out as it was hit and stumbled backwards, tripping over.

Randall scowled. "Get up, you fool! Close Combat, _now_!

Gallade scrambled back up and delivered a hail of punches to Cacturne, who fainted under the pressure.

"Cacturne is unable to battle! Randall is the winner!"

Randall smirked, and recalled his Gallade. Walking over to Shadess, he held out his hand, palm up. Shadess gave him a reprimanding glare.

"Say please."

"Please," mimicked Randall, with as much sarcasm as he could possibly summon. Shadess reached inside her pocket and pulled out a Shadow Badge, passing it to Randall.

"There. But you ought to treat your pokemon and others with more respect."

Randall huffed. "Whatever. I'm out of this dump."

He turned and walked out the door.

"I don't like him," said Sammy, the second he was out the door.

"Neither do I," said Shadess. "He reminds me far too much of Ryo."

"Well. I'd better be heading off then," said Sammy. "Dad's waiting."

**000**

Gamma walked towards his master's head office in the bottom of Nuclear Canyon with grave doubts. Why was it always him that had to deliver the bad news? Of course, he knew the reason. While he called himself a Team Epsilon Admin, he was actually one rank higher than the others. The only person he answered to was Omega himself. This gave him certain privileges, such as more respect from the other Admins. Of course, this left him with the hard jobs, like reporting to Omega.

"_I wonder if Alpha's recovered yet?" _he thought.

Alpha had been severely punished by Omega for failing to defeat Cole in Daskon City. Secretly, Gamma felt extremely sorry for Alpha, though he wasn't meant too. Omega had forbid it. But seriously, how on Earth was Alpha supposed to beat Cole. Even Omega failed to, a year before.

_A year before_.

Gamma well recalled the events of the year before. The siege. Cole and his little crony, Erik, had single-handedly broken into the Epsilon HQ in the East, atop Mt Sheer. There, Cole had beaten Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Theta, before taking on Omega. After a long and terrifying battle, Cole had prevailed. However, the devious leader had one last trick up his sleeve, and detonated the base. The Boss and the Admins had all escaped in a secret elevator shaft, and Cole had only just gotten him and Erik out alive.

With a heavy heart, he entered Omega's massive office. Up above, on an elevated platform, Omega sat on his throne, once again watching footage of the young boy, Jaden. Suddenly, the screens switched off, and he spoke.

"What news?"

"Sir. My men have failed to acquire the Knowledge Pendant. It is now being carried by Samantha Palm."

"You've failed me yet _again_, Gamma. Let me assure you, you're skating on very thin ice!"

Gamma gulped. "But...Sir? I also bring good news. A breakthrough, on the locations of the other Pendants. We have discovered that the boy Jaden has gained possession of the Life Pendant. Cole still owns the Power and Courage Pendants. The sister, Almonie, has the Mental Pendant. The rest of them, we believe, are currently held by the Blind Oracle."

"Ah, so the old bag is the keeper, eh? Interesting."

Under the cover of the shadows surrounding him, and therefore hidden from Gamma, Omega raised a hand to his neck, where hung yet another Pendant. It was similar to the others, a cross two inches tall, yet at its heart was a crystal of blackest night; of pure evil. The Darkness Pendant.

"Interesting."

**000**

I've done it! I've overcome the most severe case of Writer's Block I've ever had. HAHA! Take _that_, brain!

Once again, I'm sorry about the wait. As you've probably just read, I've had Writer's Block. I've also suffered from a lack of ideas, and a broken laptop charger. But don't worry; all of those ailments have evaporated. Now I've got a shiny new charger! Take _that_, electronics!

Also, I've had an awful cold. But that's gone too. Take _that_, Rhinovirus!

Well, that's enough ranting from me. Well...nearly. I'll just mention that since I've _finally_ (put emphasis on finally) finished this chapter, I'll be able to start updating AA a lot more, because I was really stuck on this damn chapter. Now, I'm sure you're sick of hearing about my problems and excuses, so it's time for me to sign off.

Farewell for now! Mwahahahahaha!


	28. The Buggy Gym Battle

Pokemon

Aura Adventure

Yo, it's me. Now that I've done that last chapter, it means that I'm back on track with Aura Adventure. So...more chapters!

Now, since it's been a while since we last saw Jaden, I'll just update you on his situation. Last time before last time, Jaden met Kara, a secretive girl, who then saves him from a robber named Jag. Then, the two of them go to Amonis Town, where they go their separate ways. Soon, Jaden finds out that Mark, the normal Gym Leader, is not the Leader for today. Instead, it is his daughter, Insecta! PLOT TWIST!

**000**

"You're the Gym Leader?" asked Jaden, confusion etched all over his face.

Insecta nodded happily, oblivious to his confusion. "Yep! I can't wait!"

Jaden turned to Mark. "I don't get it," he whispered. Mark gave an almighty laugh.

"Well you see...um, sorry, what's your name?"

"Jaden."

"Well, you see, Jaden, today just happens to be Insecta's eighth birthday, and I promised her that she could take my place as Leader for today only. But I warn you, she's good. As good as me, at least."

Jaden grinned widely, and rubbed his hands together. "The harder, the better. Can we start?"

"Sure."

Insecta laughed playfully, and ran to the other side of the room. "Let's go, then!" she called.

"What? _Here?"_ said Jaden, looking around the room. What with the massive cobwebs, and silk all over the place, and the hives and nests, and all that, it seemed like an odd place for battle.

"Yes, here. This room makes up the Gym Leader Type Advantage. All of Insecta's pokemon perform better in this environment. Now, I'll be the referee."

He walked to the middle of the room, and stood at the side.

"OK! Here are the rules. Both trainers will use three pokemo-"

"No, Daddy, no!" interrupted Insecta. "Four pokemon, four pokemon!"

Mark sighed, and turned to Jaden. "Do you mind?" he asked exasperatedly.

"No, not at all," answered Jaden. He had never had a four-on-four battle before.

"OK! Each trainer will use _four_ pokemon, and neither can substitute."

"Huh?" said Jaden. "When I battled Shadess, I was allowed to switch out at any time. Why the change?"

Mark smiled slightly. "Each gym has its own rules. If you want to be a really good trainer, you have to learn to adjust. Now, let the match begin!"

"I choose you, Heracross!" giggled Insecta, and she sent the blue stag beetle out.

Jaden pulled a pokeball from his belt, and pressed the button, enlarging it. Throwing it into the air, it emitted a bright flash of white light, which formed into the shape of a humanoid pokemon holding a spoon.

"Go, Merlin," said Jaden. "Start it off with a Psybeam!"

The Kadabra raised its spoon and pointed it directly at Heracross. A multi-coloured wave shot out of it and impacted with Heracross, knocking it over.

"Good work, Merlin. A super-effective hit!"

"Oh no," said Insecta. "Quick, Heracross, get back up, and use Horn Attack!"

The bug jumped to its feet and charged at Merlin, head down and horn out. Merlin swiftly dodged by flying straight up.

"Now, Fire Punch!"

Merlin's hand blazed with flames, and it dived down, striking Heracross across the back of the head. It cried out in pain and tumbled forwards.

"Well done, Jaden. You're showing a lot of talent," said Mark encouragingly. "But don't get me wrong, this is just the beginning."

"Quick, Heracross, use Aerial Ace!"

Once again, Heracross bounded back up and charged towards Merlin, this time moving too fast to simply dodge. Jaden acted fast.

"Reflect!"

Merlin concentrated, and then Heracross bounced off the sturdy wall that had been erected in front of Merlin.

"Wow! You're tough," said Insecta. "But you can't beat me! Heracross, Brick Break."

Heracross' fist glowed white, and it crashed straight through Merlin's Reflect and sent the psychic pokemon flying.

"_Amazing," _thought Jaden. _"She's only eight years old, but already knows a strategy like using Brick Break to destroy a Reflect. This could be tougher than I thought."_

"Now Heracross, Fury Attack!"

The bug marched over to Merlin, who was still recovering from the Brick Break, and proceeded to poke and jab repeatedly with its horn. Merlin fell back under the onslaught.

"Now, Horn Attack again!"

"Not so fast. Teleport!"

Heracross went to deliver one final stab at Merlin, but it was gone by the time the horn reached it. Merlin appeared directly behind the blue beetle.

"Fire Punch!"

For the second time, Merlin's hand burst into flames, and Heracross was burnt by the savage fire.

"Now," said Jaden. "Confusion!"

Heracross screwed its eyes up in pain. Then, suddenly, its eyes turned blank, and it started to stagger around in circles.

"Yes! It's confused," muttered Jaden. "I'm back on top. Merlin, use Psycho Cut, and then Shock Wave!"

Merlin slashed at the air with its spoon, and a dagger of psychic energy blasted out at Heracross, followed up by a wave of electricity. The bug pokemon fell to its knees. Its eyes cleared, but it still didn't look like it would last much longer.

"Oh no! Quickly, use Megahorn!" squealed Insecta, panicking.

"Oh, no way!" cried Jaden.

But it was too late. Heracross' mighty horn turned green, and it charged at Merlin with great speed, who attempted to set up a Reflect in response. The horn impacted on the shield, and for a moment, both pokemon struggled, each trying to get the upper hand on the other.

"You can hold on, Merlin. Don't give up!

And then, the shield cracked, and shattered, allowing Heracross to break through and strike Merlin with Megahorn. The psychic pokemon was blown backwards from the powerful, super-effective hit, and it struggled to get back up.

"Come on, don't give in! Use Disable, and then Recover!"

Merlin raised its spoon, and Heracross was held in place by its powers. Then, Merlin closed its eyes and concentrated. When it opened them again, it looked a lot more refreshed, whereas the bug facing it looked exhausted.

"Finish this off with Hidden Power!"

Merlin raised its hands into the air and formed several golden balls of light. Yelling out "Ka!" it thrust its hands forwards, sending the balls flying through the air at Heracross, where they battered it continuously. Eventually, the bug toppled over, unconscious.

"Heracross is unable to battle! Jaden wins the first round!" cried Mark, raising his left arm high into the air.

"Not fair, not fair!" whimpered Insecta. "Well, I'm gonna get you back for that! Return, Heracross. I choose you, Pinsir!"

A massive brown bug with two large, curved horns with small spikes on them emerged from its ball. It looked over at Merlin and growled out of its odd, vertical mouth.

"Ok, GO! Vicegrip!" cried Insecta.

Pinsir grabbed Merlin in its barbed horns and squeezed it mercilessly. Merlin yelled out in pain, but escaped by using Teleport.

"Psybeam!" ordered Jaden. Once more, Merlin fired a wave out of its spoon, but Pinsir dodged, and caught Merlin in another Vicegrip. Groaning in pain, Merlin fainted.

Merlin is unable to battle! Insecta wins the second round!" announced Mark, this time raising his right arm.

Jaden called Merlin back. "You did well, buddy."

He straightened up. "All right, time for my next pokemon! Go, Jaws!"

When Jaden's red Gyarados erupted onto the field, Insecta screamed, and even Mark gasped. Jaden laughed.

"Impressive, eh? Wait until you see its attacks! Ice Fang!"

Jaw's teeth froze within seconds, and it lunged at Pinsir, managing to scoop up the bug in the serpent's massive teeth, and then bit down savagely. Pinsir managed to get free by using Revenge, inflicting massive damage on Jaws.

"Next, Vital Throw!"

Pinsir stepped forwards, and showing incredible strength, _picked up_ Jaws and threw it the length of the room. Jaws fell to the ground, but writhed back up.

"Hyper Beam, Jaws!"

"You too, Pinsir!"

Both pokemon charged up the yellow beam in their mouths, but Jaws' was stronger and blasted straight through Pinsir's, hitting it in the face.

"Oh no. Pinsir, Swords Dance!"

Pinsir began to sway from side to side, and waved its arms in a strange fashion. Although it looked weird, Jaden knew that Pinsir was actually raising its attack massively.

"_I better take it out quickly!"_

"Use Water Pulse!"

Jaws created an orb of water, and hurled it at Pinsir, where it detonated, knocking Pinsir out of its dance. While the Swords Dance hadn't been completed, Pinsir's attack power had still increased a great deal. The bug demonstrated this by punching Jaws and sending it flailing across the arena.

"Damn. Jaws, hit it with Aqua Tail!"

The Gyarados whipped its tail around, hitting Pinsir and hurtling it backwards. The bug jumped back up just in time to be on the receiving end of a Hydro Pump, followed up by another Hyper Beam. Pinsir couldn't handle the two powerful attacks in quick succession, and fainted.

"Pinsir is unable to battle. Jaden wins the third round!"

"Wow. You _are _good. Well, next I'll send out my Shedinja!"

"Oh no! Jaws doesn't know any moves that are super-effective against a Shedinja. This won't go well," muttered Jaden. He knew of Shedinja's special ability: Wonder Guard. Only moves that are super-effective could impact on this buggy ghost.

"_But then again, this isn't one of the games from my world. Maybe things are different here," _thought Jaden.

"Twister!"

Jaws twisted around, writhing and wriggling in circles, getting faster and faster, creating a massive wind that blew around everybody's hair. Jaws directed the wind straight at Shedinja, who wasn't affected at all.

"Damn. Looks like Wonder Guard does work the same here," muttered Jaden.

Insecta giggled. "Yippee! Shedinja, use Confuse Ray!"

Shedinja hovered up in front of the red sea serpent. It looked pitifully weak and small against the Gyarados' size and might, but Jaden knew that it was a very strong pokemon. As they all watched, Shedinja's eyes glowed purple.

"Jaws, shut your eyes now!" roared Jaden, but he was too late. Jaws was already transfixed by Shedinja's eyes, and before too long, had fallen into confusion. Jaden cursed. What was he going to do now? Jaws was confused, and even if he managed to attack, nothing Gyarados did would be able to hurt Shedinja. And because of the rules of the gym, he couldn't switch out to someone more suitable, like Flare, a fire type.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Insecta. "Shedinja, hit it with Shadow Sneak!"

Shedinja slowly descended, until it reached the ground...and kept going, right into its shadow. Then, the shadow moved behind Jaws (who was waving its head around in a rhythmic fashion), and Shedinja rose out of it, attacking Jaws from behind.

"Then, Scratch!"

Shedinja raised one of its tiny little arms and swiped at Jaws. It did little damage, barely hurting Jaws at all due to its hard scales. Still, the tiny pain seemed to bring Jaws back to Earth from its daydream, and it roared loudly, before lunging forwards at Shedinja.

Unfortunately, and to Jaden's and Jaws' surprise, it went straight through Shedinja, causing absolutely no harm whatsoever. Its momentum carried it forwards, straight into a particularly large patch of sticky silk. Jaws got caught, and roared in annoyance as it tried to free itself of the clingy mess. Insecta saw her chance.

"Shadow Ball!"

An orb of dark light materialised in front of Shedinja, and it launched the ball at Jaws, hitting it in the throat and knocking it out.

"Jaws is unable to battle! Insecta wins the fourth round!"

Jaden returned Jaws. "You did great. Have a nice break, Jaws. Now, I choose you, Flare!"

The fire hound burst from its ball and faced Shedinja, growling menacingly. Shedinja faced it without fear.

"This'll be easy. One hit from a fire attack and Shedinja will go down like a sack of potatoes," said Jaden confidently.

"Really? I don't think so, big guy," laughed Insecta. "Shedinja here is pretty fast!"

"We'll see about that," muttered Jaden. "Flare, use Ember!"

Flare summoned up a bunch of small flames in its mouth and blew them at Shedinja, who dodged quickly without even trying.

"_Wow, that is pretty fast. I guess it wasn't showing off its real speed before."_

Flare used Ember again, but Shedinja dodged once more. Jaden thought quickly.

_Rock, fire, flying, ghost and dark moves will hurt it. Luckily, Flare knows fire, ghost and dark moves. Let's try 'em out now!"_

"Alright, Flare! Shadow Ball!"

Flare opened its mouth wide and the dark energy appeared.

"Don't let it hit! Use your own Shadow Ball, Shedinja!"

Shedinja charged up another Shadow Ball of its own, and hurled it at Flare, who released its own. They collided in mid-air, and dissipated.

"Damn. Oh well, use Crunch!"

"Oh no you don't! Dodge it!"

Shedinja floated upwards, narrowly missing Flare's mighty incisors by mere inches.

"Wow, that was close. Now, use Mind Reader!" ordered Insecta.

"Attack now! Crunch again."

Flare bolted straight at Shedinja, its legs a blur. However, Shedinja, using Mind Reader, predicted its movements, and moved to the side, and Flare missed. Jaden grimaced.

"Crap in a bucket, I can't get a single hit in. How can I beat this thing if I can't hit it?"

"Shedinja, use Shadow Sneak!"

Flare whimpered as Shedinja rose out of the shadows and struck it from behind.

"Twist around, now, and use Ember!"

Flare spun around, and for a moment was face to face with the ghost bug, but it was gone before Flare had a time to hit it with the flames.

"_This isn't working!"_

Jaden thought hard. Shedinja, obviously trained in speed, could dodge every one of his attacks, and then strike without resistance. What he needed was a strategy to somehow catch Shedinja off guard, because with its special ability of Wonder Guard came the costly price of having weak defence and endurance.

"_Of course!"_

Now, Flare, use Crunch once more!"

Flare charged at Shedinja again, and dived through the air towards the bug.

Insecta laughed. "Shedinja, dodge!"

Shedinja rose into the air.

"Now's your chance! Flamethrower!"

Still in the act of diving at the space where Shedinja used to be, Flare twisted its head around, and unleashed a torrent of fire, straight up at the ghost, who was caught off guard and swallowed up by the hungry flames.

Soon, the fire cleared, and Shedinja fell to the ground, hitting the floor with a soft thud.

"Shedinja is unable to battle! Jaden wins the fifth round!"

"Yeah, we did it, Flare! Great job!"

The Houndoom growled in pleasure at Jaden's praise. Meanwhile Insecta was pulling a pokeball off her necklace.

"_Uh-oh. Here comes her strongest pokemon. Shadess and Irok both had one of those pokeball necklaces."_

"I choose you, Yanmega!"

Jaden gasped as this giant dragonfly appeared in a flash of white light.

"Flare, let's finish this quickly! Fire Fang!"

Flare's teeth burst into flames, and it jumped through the air, and snapped down on Yanmega. The dragonfly buzzed its wings in pain.

"You'll pay for that! Bug Bite!"

Yanmega flew around behind Flare and clamped its small teeth onto the dog's hindquarters. Flare squealed, and spun around, until Yanmega let go.

"Flare, Flamethrower!"

Another stream of flames was created, but Yanmega quickly buzzed out of the way.

"Ancient Power!"

Yanmega's head turned as hard as rock, and it flew at Flare, striking it viciously as it passed.

"Now, Night Slash!"

Yanmega's wings started vibrating even faster, until it rocketed straight at Flare, and whipped it with the wings as it flew by. Flare gave one last roar of pain, and fainted onto the floor.

"Flare is unable to battle! Insecta wins the sixth round! Both trainers are now down to their last pokemon. Whoever wins the seventh and last round will be the overall winner!" announced Mark loudly.

"Sorry, buddy. You fought real good today," reassured Jaden, and he bought the exhausted Houndoom back to its ball.

"_Ok, this is it. I'm down to one last pokemon. You ready, Sonyk?"_

"_As ready as ever. Let's do this!"_

"Alright then! Go, Sonyk! Rock their world!"

The small blue Riolu bounced from its ball, and did a full somersault, rolling into a battle pose, both fists raised.

"_You're on!"_

**000**

Well, that's the first time I've split a battle into two chapters. The double battle with Erik, and the battle with Alpha, didn't really count because the battle didn't really start until the chapter after. Here, the battle is in full swing.

Anyway, I'm back into the AA vibe. Two chapters in two weeks, I'm getting back into my old rhythm. AND, I've only got one week left of school before the Christmas holidays. Awesome, I can't wait.

Well, it's time for me to go. Oh yeah, it's my birthday tomorrow. 15 years old. Man, it's felt like forever, and I'm only 15 years in! This is gonna be a loooong life.

See ya.


	29. Information Relations

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi guys!

Just thought I'd point out in case you don't read my Dragon Ball X story, I just started my Christmas Holidays, so I'll be able to update a lot more. Trust me, I've got nothing else to do but write, so...yeah.

Oh yeah, if any of you are Digimon fans, I just started a Digimon fic, so be sure to read that. It's joined this and DBX as the only three stories that I'm going to update frequently.

By the way, this chapter is from Erik's point of view. We haven't seen him for a while, and he's going to be very important starting from this chapter on. Oh yeah, a quick fun fact about Erik: If he had of entered the Titanium Cup, he would have won. Erik is a lot stronger than he first appears, he was trained by Cole, don't forget.

**000**

The day was almost over, and the bright sun was beginning to fall beneath the horizon. All over Metrosan City, lights were flickering on, in buildings and on the streets. But outside the city, darkness was starting to arrive. Long shadows were stretching across the rocky plains, sprouting from the small boulders and trees surrounding the city. No one moved, apart from the occasional Sandshrew or Geodude, and a single lone figure traversing the wild terrain.

She looked around 17 years old, and stood tall, walking with a purpose. Dark brown hair covered her head, and spiked out to the back when it reached her ears, down to her shoulders. She had incredible amber coloured eyes, and long lashes. The girl wore a long, green, silk cloak, and a white shirt underneath. On her feet were brown sandals.

Up ahead was a ring of small rocks. Inside was a campfire, burning brightly on a pyre of wood and sticks. No one was in sight. The girl was alone. She walked into the middle of the ring and sat down cross-legged next to the fire, and bowed her head.

An hour passed. The girl didn't move once. All of a sudden she looked up, staring at a spot just inside the ring. A minute later, the air rippled, and a shape slowly materialised into being. It was an old woman, hunched over slightly. As she lifted her head, her pure white eyes came into view. It was the Blind Oracle.

"Greetings, my dear," she said.

"Hello Oracle. Good to see you again," stated the girl. Her voice was clear and pure.

"And you, child." In contrast, the Oracle's voice was wavery and frail.

"Now tell me, why did you call me out here?"

The Oracle smiled. "You know, of course, of the boy?"

The girl nodded. "Of course. I've had visions of him from the minute he arrived in this world."

"He is the Chosen One."

"Are you sure? Have you met him?"

This time, it was the Oracle who nodded. "There is no doubt. He is the one. I gave him the Life Pendant."

The girl was shocked. "You what? That Pendant is sacred, and you gave it to a boy on a whim?"

"It was no whim. He is the rightful owner. It belongs to him."

A frown found its way to the mouth of the girl. "What of Epsilon? If they were to capture him, the Pendan-"

"We have to risk it. If he doesn't hold that Pendant, he will hold no hope of fulfilling his purpose."

"I understand. What of the others you hold? Do they play a role in your visions?"

The Oracle nodded. "Of course." She gave a mysterious smile. "And so we come to the _real_ reason that I called you here tonight."

The Oracle reached to her neck and pulled off three necklaces. From each one hung a wooden cross. One was embedded with a yellow jewel, one with a White jewel, and the third had a pink jewel. She extended her arm to the girl, the Pendants dangling from her fingers.

"My time is past. You must take them."

The girl was shocked. "_What?_ No, I can't! _You _can't!"

"You can and you will. It's your job to pass on the Pendants now."

"But I cannot sense the true owners! How will I know who to give them too?"

"You _can _sense the true owners. When you meet the right person, you'll know."

"But it's not just that, Oracle! You've held the Pendants for centuries! Without their energy to sustain you, who knows what could happen to you?"

"Take them! My fate is not important."

The girl knew that the Oracle was right. Slowly, and against her better judgement, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the Pendants, but did not take them.

"Do it!"

The Oracle let go. At once, she gasped, clenching her heart, and staggered backwards. The girl started forwards in alarm.

"Are you OK?"

The Oracle's was breathing heavily, her eyes closed. Sweat was pouring down the old woman's face. She didn't answer. The girl extended her arm and placed it on the Oracle's forehead. The hand glowed, and the girl's eyes slid out of focus as she transferred her energy to the frail body crouching in front of her.

The Oracle stood back, shaking but stable.

"Thank you, my child. You may have just saved my life."

"No problem," gasped the girl. She had given a lot of her stamina and vitality to the Oracle, and the effect was very draining on her. Quickly, she placed the three Pendants around her own neck, where they laid to rest against a fourth Pendant with a purple gem. Instantly, she felt stronger.

"Now, go," said the Oracle. "You'll know the owners when you meet them."

The girl nodded, and turned from the ring of rocks, vanishing into the darkness. The Oracle stared after her, and then looked at her hands. They were still shaking, and sweat still covered her face.

"_Thank you...Almonie."_

**000**

"_There's nothing like the hustle and bustle of home," _thought Erik, as he stood at the gates of Metrosan City. Located about 100 kilometres South-West of the Nuclear Canyon, Metrosan was the biggest city in Bronko, and the Capital of the region. Just like Celadon and Goldenrod, Metrosan City was the centre of communications and trading in Bronko. It was also Erik's hometown, and he had grown up here. On top of the gate sat a Chatot, unnoticed by Erik. It gave a loud call, and flew off, vanishing among the buildings..

Erik entered the city, looking around in wonder as he did so. Nostalgia hit him like a brick wall as he remembered all of the streets and corners, the building, the shops, and the houses. It was early morning. A boy around his age whizzed by on a skateboard. When he saw Erik, spun it around, and jumped off.

"Yo, Erik, wassup man? When did you get back?"

Erik grinned wildly. He had a lot of contacts and friends here in Metrosan. "Hey, Spazzo. Only about a minute ago, actually."

"Well, welcome back. Anyway I gotta roll, but I heard that Aquos was asking around if anyone had seen you."

"Huh? Aquos? Why?"

Spazzo shrugged his shoulders, and jumped back on his board. "I dunno, dude, but apparently it's pretty urgent."

He skated off, almost knocking over an elderly couple as he did so.

"You hooligan!" roared the old man, shaking his fist at Spazzo in the distance. "Don't make me call your mother!"

Erik hurried forwards to help the man's wife pick up her handbag, which she had dropped in shock as the skateboard almost collided with her. He deliberately covered his face surreptitiously with his arms as he bent down. After he handed it back to her, he exposed his face, and she recognised him.

"Erik! Oh my, you've grown so much! I haven't seen you since you set out on that Pokemon thing with that other boy, Cody, or something."

"Cole, you mean."

"Oh, that's the one. When was that, it must have been two, three years ago?"

"Almost four. Now, Mrs Kensington, I have to go, but tell Marty I said hi, alright?"

"I will, my dear."

The Kensington's walked off, and Erik was left alone again. Actually, he was quite surprised. Since setting off to train with Cole three years and ten months ago, he only returned to Metrosan a few times a year, and yet everybody still seemed to remember him quite well. He continued on to the Gym, where Aquos, the Gym Leader, was.

It had been a while, but he found that he remembered the way through the streets easily. To an outsider or a tourist, the massive twist of streets and dark alleyways was incredibly confusing, but he had been hanging around this city his whole life, and it was stuck fast in his memory.

Five minutes later, he reached the Gym. He was in luck; Aquos had just walked out the front door.

"Aquos!"

The Leader turned as he heard his name called. The man was tall, with dark black skin, and a short, number two haircut. He broke into a wide smile when he saw Erik.

"Erik, m' boy! Good to see you again. What have you been up to? Why, I haven't seen you since the last time you were here, what, three months ago? That's when you beat me, of course."

Erik grinned, and pulled out a badge case. Since beating Aquos, he had gathered the Iron Badge and the Insect Badge, bringing his collection up to six badges.

"Read 'em and weep, Aquos!"

"Man, you're better than I thought," laughed Aquos, showing off his white teeth. "You're half my age, but you're better than me already!"

"I _was _trained by Cole, I'm sure that counts for something."

"Yeah, but he's only a few years older than you! How he got to his rank, I'll never know. Now, there must be some reason that you came to see me as soon as you get back, spit it out."

"Spazzo told me that you were looking for me, what is it?"

"Yeah, I've gotten word. One of the guys swears that he saw a man dressed in an Epsilon outfit slipping into a building."

"When was this?" asked Erik, intrigued.

"Yesterday."

"Which building did the man go into?"

Aquos opened his mouth to answer, but hesitated. "I forgot," he said, turning red.

Erik rolled his eyes. Aquos was a popular leader, and a great trainer, but the man had the memory of a goldfish. "Well then, who was the guy who told you about him?"

"You know Skidd? Hangs out with those morons in the alley behind the Pokemart? It was him."

Erik grinned. "Skidd? Me and him used to be great mates when we were kids. I need to go check him out; I guess I'll see you around, Aquos."

"Wait!" said Aquos, and leaned in close. "I forgot to tell you. There's a rumour that Cole's back in town."

"You're _joking!_"

Aquos shook his head. "Nope. I haven't seen him for a year, but apparently he's back. You might want to ask around about that too."

Erik nodded. "I'll be sure to. See ya."

"Yeah, peace out, Erik."

Aquos turned back into the Gym. Erik waited until he shut the door, and then started walking so fast that he almost ran. The two bits of info that Aquos had given him were both phenomenal. And it would take him about ten minutes to find out all of the details. Erik knew every informant in Metrosan City, a network of spies, usually reporting to Aquos. In a city as big as Metrosan, there were a lot of petty criminals, but many were honourable, and willing to help out the Gym Leader. Erik was friends with most of them.

He turned into an alleyway. Down the back was a group of loud teenagers. They were all at least two years older than him, and a few were even smoking.

"Hey Skidd!" he called. One of the guys looked around as his name was called, and he slowly recognised the face supplying the sound.

"Erik? What the hell are you doing here?"

Skidd pulled Erik into a hug. Behind him, the rest of his mates kept on talking, a few glancing at the newcomer, before dismissing him as nothing. However, one of them looked annoyed.

"I'm here for information," said Erik. Aquos told me that you know something about an Epsilon going into a building. What can you tell me about it?"

Skidd thought back to the day before. "Oh yeah, I remember that. This guy kitted out in the uniform, looking all nervous. He goes up to this building, and gets this key out of his pocket. Then he opened the door and went in. He sure looked suspicious."

"What building?"

"That big one on the outskirts of the city. The abandoned one."

Erik drew in breath. "So, that's where they're hiding out! Alright, I'm gonna go check it out. Sorry I can't stay longer, but I gotta go."

Skidd nodded. "See you, then."

Erik turned to leave, but then heard a voice behind him.

"Oy, Skidd! Who is this little faggot?"

Erik looked back down the alleyway. The guy that had looked annoyed before was walking towards him. Skidd answered.

"This is Erik. He's an old mate, so back off, Kelvin, because his pokemon could kick your ass."

"This little squirt is a trainer? Yeah right! Alright, kid, let's battle."

Erik scrutinized him wearily. "I've got better things to do, but fine. One on one."

Kelvin grinned, and grabbed a pokeball. "Come on, Breloom!"

The mushroom fighter was answered with Erik's Blaziken, Blaze.

"Alright, Breloom, Dynamicpunch!"

Breloom ran at Blaze, raising its fist, but Blaze dodged and knocked it out cold with a Blaze Kick to the face. Kelvin was shocked.

"See you around, Skidd."

"Yeah, bye!"

Erik walked off, Blaze following behind him. Behind him, he could hear Skidd's mates taunting Kelvin about his quick defeat.

**000**

Erik stared at the heavy padlock on the door of the abandoned building. The building was old, but the door and the padlock were both fairly new. Erik frowned at this.

Sitting on a letterbox twenty metres away was the Chatot from earlier. When it saw Erik, its eyes bulged, and it flapped away quickly.

"Hamm, bust this door down," said Erik.

He released Hamm the Hariyama from its ball. It annihilated the door with a single massive punch, and Erik walked inside. Just as he suspected, everything inside was completely modern. A woman in Team Epsilon's black outfit ran into the hallway to find the source of the crash, and attacked him with a Phanpy. Hamm knocked it out with Vital Throw, hurling it against the far wall. It fainted. The woman screamed, and ran through a doorway.

Erik followed calmly, defeating several more henchmen as he travelled up through the floors. His superior pokemon could easily handle the much weaker pokemon of the grunts. Soon, there was only one more floor between him and the top floor. Barely even trying, Hamm, Blaze and his Crawdaunt, Lobman, knocked out a Raticate, a Golbat, a Stunky, a Quagsire and a Loudred. The grunts scattered, and Erik walked up the steps to the last floor.

He emerged into a big room. The only thing in it was a computer on the other side of the room. A woman was sitting at the computer, typing furiously. Her black hair hung down the back of the chair that she was sitting in. Erik drew in his breath. He knew that hair. It was Lady Delta.

Delta was an admin for Team Epsilon, and was utterly ruthless and powerful.

"Hello, Delta."

**000**

OK, I know that this chapter was a little rushed, and not very neat, but I wanted to get this done.

Anyway, so now we meet Delta! You might recall her name from when Ned and Kelly mention it when Sammy got the Knowledge Pendant. And who _is _this Almonie girl? Omega's already mentioned her once, but who exactly is she? Find out soon, in Pokemon Aura Adventure!

Bye for now. And don't forget to review. I've noticed that I tend to get more reviews if I specifically mention them, so keep them coming, I love reviews.


	30. An Old Enemy Returns

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hi there, fans of me!

Last time that we saw Jaden, he was battling the daughter of the Amonis Town Gym Leader, Insecta. She's a tough opponent, and has had Jaden on the ropes since the beginning of the battle. Can Jaden win? Find out right now!

**000**

"Ha! Your little Riolu can't take down my Yanmega! Use Air Slash!"

Yanmega buzzed its wings angrily, and zipped through the air towards Sonyk, who leaped high into the air at the last second.

Jaden smirked. "Think you can match Sonyk's speed? Sonyk, use your Return Attack!"

Sonyk sailed down from the air and punched Yanmega hard on the head, pushing it to the ground.

"_Amazing," _thought Mark. "_That attack had a lot of power. Jaden must have a strong bond with his Riolu."_

Jaden grinned. "Good work, Sonyk. Now, Force Palm!"

Sonyk ran forwards, its palm glowing, but to its surprise, Yanmega flew out of the way. Jaden frowned. "Use it again!"

But Yanmega dodged once more.

"How is it getting so fast?" asked Jaden.

Insecta giggled. "Yanmega's ability is Speed Boost. It'll just get faster and faster until you lose!"

Jaden grimaced. "That's not gonna happen!" "_I hope..." _he thought afterwards. "Quick, Sonyk, let's take it out before it gets too fast to hit! Double Drain Punch!"

Both of Sonyk's fists glowed green, and it dived over to Yanmega, managing to hit it. Some of Yanmega's stamina was transferred to Sonyk in the process.

"Oh no. Yanmega, Bug Bite!"

Sonyk tried to move out of the way, but Yanmega was too quick for it, and the large dragonfly sunk its teeth into Sonyk's arm. Sonyk's eyes bulged, and it swung Yanmega around, eventually throwing it off. Sonyk put its hand over the small puncture marks in its arm.

"_Gee, that stings!" _it said.

"Damn, this is getting hard," muttered Jaden. "I can't think of any way to beat this thing."

Yanmega buzzed forwards, and whipped Sonyk over the face. It was getting faster and faster.

"Sonyk, use Foresight to predict its movements."

Sonyk stopped moving, and closed its eyes. Then, they flew open, and Sonyk dashed at Yanmega, who flew up into the air. Unfortunately for the large bug, Sonyk jumped at the same time, and hit Yanmega with a Force Palm in mid-air. Yanmega was blasted backwards.

"What?" mumbled Insecta. "How did that happen?"

"Good strategy, Jaden!" called Mark.

"Hit it again!" ordered Jaden.

Too bad for Jaden and Sonyk, Yanmega's speed had rapidly increased even more, and despite the Foresight, it dodged Sonyk's attack just in time.

"Oh no," muttered Jaden. "There's got to be another way!"

"Ancient Power!"

Sonyk was knocked to the ground by Yanmega's rock-hard head, and got wrapped up in the webbing on the floor. As it struggled to escape, Yanmega flew at it.

"Finish it off with an Air Slash!" commanded Insecta, and her bug's wings buzzed even faster, zooming at Sonyk, who was still trapped in the sticky webs.

"_Sonyk! Just before it gets to you, twist out of the way as far as you can!" _ordered Jaden over their mind link, so that Insecta couldn't hear their plan. Sonyk nodded, and wriggled a foot to the side. Yanmega missed it, and sliced open the webbing that had caught Sonyk.

"Yes! It's free! Now, Karate Chop."

Sonyk leaped at Yanmega while its back was still turned, and struck it on the back of its thorax. Yanmega was sent tumbling to the ground. Writhing back up, it saw that Sonyk had split into several copies of itself.

"Not Double Team!" gasped Insecta.

Jaden grinned. "Yep! Sonyks, mix!

"_Aye aye, captain!" _said several Sonyk's, and they began leaping and jumping all over the place, mixing together so that it was impossible to keep your eye on one copy for longer than a second. Yanmega was confused. One of the Sonyks ran forwards, swinging its arm at Yanmega, who dodged. Suddenly the real Sonyk popped up behind it, and hit it with another Karate Chop. Before Yanmega could turn and strike it, Sonyk had mingled back into the clones, and was lost from view.

"Incredible tactic, Jaden." applauded Mark. "Keep trying, Insecta, you can do it!"

"Yanmega, fly at them all and use Night Slash!"

Yanmega's wings buzzed faster again, and it zoomed towards the group, intending to strike as many as it could. Somehow, every copy dodged.

"But...how?" whimpered Insecta. "Why are they so fast? Yanmega should be faster because of Speed Boost!"

Jaden grinned. "Sonyk used Copycat!"

"No way!" gasped Mark. "Good work, Jaden!"

"What! What's Copycat?" shouted Insecta.

"Copycat usually copies the effect of a move, and gives the attributes to the user," explained Mark. "But in this case, Sonyk copied the effects of Speed Boost! Remarkable!"

"Alright, Sonyks! Attack!"

All of the Sonyk's rushed at Yanmega, and began using numerous moves against it. Since they were only copies, none of the moves worked, but the real Sonyk was also in the group, knocking Yanmega around, and then vanishing amongst its clones before Yanmega could find it. The bug was exhausted.

"Now, Sonyk! Finish it off! Return!"

The clones disappeared, and the real Sonyk was left standing, its fist glowing white. Leaping high into the air, it soared down and punched Yanmega right in the forehead. The giant dragonfly let out one last screech and then fainted.

"Sonyk wins the seventh and last round! Jaden is the overall winner of the battle!" cried Mark, flinging his arm high into the air.

"Yes! Sonyk, we did it," celebrated Jaden, grabbing his pokemon and giving it a high five.

"No! That's not fair!" whined Insecta, stomping her foot onto the ground. Mark walked over to her.

"Jaden won fair and square. You should learn a lesson from his tactics; I have."

Insecta screwed up her face, but nodded. "You win, Jaden."

She ran over to him and pulled a badge out of her pocket. It was in the shape of a spider.

"Here you go. It's the Insect Badge!"

Jaden took the badge. "Thanks, Insecta. You're really good, your Yanmega gave me and Sonyk a lot of trouble there."

Insecta's small face lit up. "Thank-you," she said cheerfully. "You're nice, Jaden."

Jaden smiled, and ruffled her hair. "Now, I have to go. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Good luck, young Jaden," said Mark, extending his hand, and Jaden shook it.

"Bye Jaden! Thank-you!" called Insecta, as Jaden walked out the door of the gym. Outside, he smiled. Now he had three Gym Badges!

"_This is a lot tougher than the games," _he thought, and began to walk through town towards the Pokemon Centre.

**000**

An hour later, after he had healed his pokemon, Jaden walked towards the town centre. As he entered, there was loud crack, and a shape began to materialise in front of him. Jaden gasped in shock, and backed away. Suddenly he stopped, as the shape cleared to reveal Paul and his son, Ryan. Paul spun around wildly. Ryan just looked scared.

"What!" the massive man roared. "Where are we? You old hag, take us back!"

"Paul?" asked Jaden. Paul turned his head, and did a double take when he saw Jaden.

"Jaden? What are you doing here...Where are we?"

"We're in Amonis Town. What are _you _doing here?"

"I have absolutely _no _idea!" said Paul. "We were stopping off in the Cratonic Village, when this old woman came up to us and said that we were needed elsewhere, and this Slowking standing next to her waved its hands and teleported us here!"

"Slowking..." said Jaden slowly. "It must have been the Blind Oracle!"

"Blind Oracle? Actually, this woman _was _blind...you know her?"

"Yeah, I battled her Slowking two days ago. She gave me this," said Jaden, pulling the Life Pendant out from under his shirt, where it hung around his neck.

"Nice. Keep that safe, it looks valuable."

"She said that it had been looking for me."

"Looking for you? What a load of tosh. This woman sounds like a bit of a kook if you ask me."

"Hey, Jaden!" said Ryan. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," answered Jaden. "Hey, guess what? I just won another badge!"

"Wow!" praised Ryan, his eyes sparkling. "Can I see it?"

Jaden pulled the Insect Badge out of his Badge Case and passed it to the young boy. While Ryan looked at it in wonder, Jaden turned back to Paul.

"So what are you guys gonna do now?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. Do you mind if we go to the Pokemon Centre and sit down?"

"No worries, let's go."

The three of them walked back to the Pokemon Centre. As Paul pulled up some chairs, Jaden looked at the TV mounted on the wall, and his mouth dropped. Quickly, he ran up to it, and turned up the volume.

Sammy was on TV. She was on some sort of stage, facing off against another girl, who had long blonde hair, like Sammy. The girl had a Glaceon, and Sammy was fighting with her Scyther. Jaden noticed a timer on the wall behind them.

"It's a Contest!" he exclaimed.

Jaden watched as the two combatants faced off, and the clock ran out just as Sammy was about to win.

"And Jennifer Terringdale is the winner of the Nasbite Contest!" cried an announcer. The screen zoomed out, back to a reporter.

"And that was footage from the Nasbite Contest, which finished a week ago. Well done, Jennifer. With other news..."

The reporter went on some rant about a Glameow being stuck up a tree, and Jaden turned to Paul and Ryan. "Wow. I can't believe that Sammy was in the Final Round of a Contest. I didn't even know that she did Contests."

"She did well. Congratulate her from me next time you see her, OK?" said Paul.

Jaden sat down with them and they began to eat some food that Nurse Joy had brought them. Soon, Jaden's attention was distracted by two men at the next table, who were complaining loudly about being attacked by Team Epsilon.

"Where were you attacked?" asked Jaden, cutting into their conversation.

One of the men looked at him. "Outside town. There's an old building out there, and they ran out and tried to steal our pokemon. Luckily, we fought them off, but they got away. I think they ran back into the building."

Jaden looked at Paul, who had frozen with a fork halfway to his mouth.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

"I hope not," said Paul. "I just got comfy."

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said. "Let's go check it out. I've got a quarrel with Epsilon."

Paul sighed and looked at his half-eaten lunch. "I guess," he said grudgingly, and stood up.

**000**

"Well, Jaden. Isn't this interesting? Well worth abandoning our food, isn't it?"

"Oh, be quiet."

They were standing outside the building that the men had told him about. It looked completely empty.

"Let's go inside."

Jaden marched straight up to the door. It had a massive padlock on it.

"Oh look, it's locked. We'd better go back to lunch, it's not too late," said Paul hopefully.

"Alright, then."

They turned and walked back to Ryan, who had hung back from the building. He seemed scared of it.

"Come on, Ryan. We're going back."

"Good."

As they walked away, Jaden turned back for another look, and spied a dark shadow hurrying around the corner.

"There!"

He ran back, Paul right on his heels, but the shape was gone by the time Jaden got there. Suddenly, a loud yell rang out.

"HELP!"

Paul turned, and his eyes widened. A Weavile had snuck up behind Ryan and grabbed him.

"RYAN!"

Paul ran back, but it was too late. Showing extraordinary strength, the Weavile carried Ryan, kicking and screaming, over to the building, and began to climb up the side with one hand, holding the ten year old boy in the other.

"Come back here, you swine!" bellowed Paul, but the Weavile had already disappeared through a broken window. Paul turned to Jaden, fire dancing in his eyes.

"Come on. We're going in there and getting Ryan."

Jaden nodded. "But how are we going to get in?"

Paul growled, reminding Jaden of a large bear, and he walked over to the locked door. Paul grunted, and punched the lock. Despite being made of metal, it shattered under his strength. Paul opened the door.

"Um...Paul? Your hand!"

Paul looked down at his fist, which was covered in blood from breaking the lock.

"I'll be fine," he grumbled. "Let's go."

Together, they hurried up the stairs. Everything was dark, all the lights were off. On the fifth floor, two below the top, they ran into some Team Epsilon grunts.

"Oy!" one of them yelled. "Stop right there. This is private property!"

"My ass it is!" roared Paul. "Go, Machamp!"

Jaden gasped as the four-armed behemoth emerged from its ball.

"Paul, I didn't know you had a Machamp! You're better than I thought."

"I have beaten all those Gyms, don't forget. Now, you guys are going down. But first, tell me where my son is!"

"You think we'll tell you! Ursaring, take on that Machamp!"

The grunt, who seemed to be the leader out of them, released his pokemon, and the bear ran at Machamp.

"Hammer Arm!"

Ursaring swung its arm down at Machamp, who blocked it with two of its arms.

Paul smiled in spite of his anger. "Cross Chop!"

Machamp crossed its other two arms together in an X shape, and then bought them down hard on Ursaring's head. It was knocked out. The rest of the grunts cried out in fear. One of them pointed upstairs.

"Your kid's up there, but trust me, you don't want to fight our boss, he's really tough!"

"Who is it?" asked Jaden. "Gamma? Alpha?"

"No," said the grunt. "Our boss is Beta."

"Beta?" said Jaden to Paul, confused. "But...there isn't a Beta! Erik told me that the names of the four Admins were Alpha, Delta, Gamma, and Theta!"

"He's new!" piped up one of the grunts. "But damn, is he good!"

"Come on," said Paul. "Let's go get Ryan. I don't care how strong this guy is, I'm gonna teach him the meaning of pain!"

"But you think we're just gonna let you go up there?" asked the lead grunt. "Men, stop them."

They grunts sent out an assortment of low-levelled pokemon. Jaden sent out his Houndoom, Flare.

"Flare, stay here, and teach these guys why it's a bad idea to mess with us," he said. "Follow me, Paul!"

Together, the two of them ran up the stairs, to the top floor, leaving Flare to deal with the grunts. When they entered, Jaden gasped.

Unlike the rest of the building, this floor was lit up. But that wasn't what he had gasped at. The entire floor was one big room, with the stairs behind them at one end. The rest of the room was an arena. The wall at the other end of the room was one big window, and Ryan was tied to a chair next to it. Standing next to him, looking out the window, was a smallish man with a black cape and a hood. His arms were folded in front of him. They couldn't see his face. The Weavile was standing next to him, staring at the newcomers. It was grinning sadistically.

"So. You made it, Jaden. I have to say, you've improved since we last met," said the man, who Jaden assumed was Beta.

His voice seemed familiar, and he sounded young, maybe only a few years older than Jaden.

"I don't think we know each other," said Jaded cautiously.

"Yeah, now let my son go!" yelled Paul.

"Temper, temper. I'll let him go in due course. If you can beat me, that is."

"Sure, I'll take you on! Let's go," said Paul forcefully.

Beta laughed. "I wasn't talking to you, wild man! I want to battle Jaden."

"Why are you so interested in me?" asked Jaden. He still had the feeling that he had heard that voice before.

"Because you caused me to be what I am! I have to thank you, Jaden. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be as strong as I've grown to be."

"Who _are _you?" asked Jaden.

"Oh, Jaden, I'm hurt! You honestly don't remember me? You don't remember how I beat you so thoroughly?"

Suddenly, Jaden made the connection between the voice and the Weavile, and Beta's fascination with him.

"No...no, you can't be! That's impossible!"

"Oho, so you _do _remember me?"

"It can't be you!"

Beta laughed, and slowly turned around to face them, throwing off his hood as he did so. "Oh, but it is me, Jaden."

The black hair and those awful blue eyes were unmistakeable. Jaden took a step back. "No..."

"Who _is _this guy?" asked Paul, confused beyond belief.

"I-it's...it's..." stammered Jaden. "It's Ryo."

**000**

HA! I bet you all weren't expecting that! Didn't I say, so long ago, at the end of chapter 7 that we might see Ryo again? I've been planning this since the beginning!

See you next time...


	31. Delta's Dragon

**Pokemon **

**Aura Adventure**

Hello. Update time.

Now, last time we saw Erik, he had broken into the base of Team Epsilon, in Metrosan City. Inside, he easily handled plenty of grunts, before reaching the top floor and finding the commander of this base herself, Delta! Can Erik defeat her? Find out now!

**000**

Delta spun around, her long, dark purple hair flailing through the air, to see Erik across the other side of the empty room. The woman was wearing a black Team Epsilon outfit, and had large hoop earrings. When she saw him, she broke into a wide smile, and held out her arms, as if offering to give him a hug.

"Erik!" she cried. "How lovely to see you again! It's been too long, almost a year!"

"Delta. I should have known I'd find _you_ here," said Erik. His voice was full of hatred.

Delta's face fell. "What's wrong, Erik? You don't seem very pleased to see me!"

"Why should I? Last time we met, you tried to kill me!"

"Oh..._that!" _giggled Delta airily. "Well, Erik, I'd really hoped that you had put that behind you and come to your senses. It was a year ago, after all. In fact, we'd be honoured to welcome you to Team Epsilon! I'm sure that with your skills you'd advance to Admin easily, like the new kid."

"What new kid?"

"His name's Ryo. Yes, he joined us a few months ago and has already risen through the ranks. Now, let's all stop pointing fingers and forgive each other."

"I don't forgive criminals like yourself easily, Delta. And I have a personal score to settle with you."

Delta's expression changed slowly, from sweet to sour. A change seemed to come over her, and suddenly she wasn't very welcoming anymore, completely forgetting about her request to forgive and forget.

"You arrogant little toe-rag! I didn't just _try _to kill you! If it weren't for your little saviour, Cole, rescuing you from that cell, I _would _have killed you!" Delta yelled. She was furious. "But where is he now? Where is Cole, Erik? How's he going to protect you now, when I tear you limb from limb!"

"I may not know where Cole is," responded Erik. "But I know that this time won't be like the last! This time I'll beat you myself! I've grown a lot stronger in the past year."

Delta laughed. Her laugh was awful and cruel. The sound of it sent chills down Erik's spine. He knew that laugh too well.

"Just try to take me on, Erik! Without Cole you're nothing!"

"We'll see about that," said Erik. "Cole crushed you last time, not to mention Alpha, Theta and Gamma. He only struggled with Omega, and still won!"

Delta laughed again. "That was Cole, not you, Erik."

Erik grimaced. "I'll still beat you. Then you're going to prison."

"HA! Yeah, right. Well, what are you waiting for?" questioned Delta, reaching to her waist, where there was a single pokeball. Pulling it off, she hurled it into the air. "Go, Dragonite!"

Erik's grimace grew even more grimacey as the giant orange dragon burst into reality. Delta was powerful, perhaps the third best fighter in all of Team Epsilon, surpassed only by Gamma and Omega. This wasn't going to be easy. Erik decided that it would be best to start off with a super-effective approach.

"Go, Pilomino!"

As the Piloswine appeared, Delta grinned.

"Oh, this'll be interesting. Let's pump this up a little."

She pulled a remote out of her pocket, and pressed a big red button in the centre. Loud creaks echoed throughout the room, and the ceiling parted, giving Dragonite room to manoeuvre in the air. Erik gasped as the roof opened up to the elements.

"Impressed? You should be!" yelled Delta in delight. "We had the roof converted as soon as we moved in to this hovel. Now, let's get this party started!"

"Have it your way! Pilomino, start off with Icy Wind!"

Pilomino opened up its mouth, blowing a storm of tiny snowflakes at the opposing pokemon.

"You think that'll even _hit_ Dragonite?" sneered Delta. "Blow it away with your wings!"

Dragonite's small but powerful wings flapped powerfully, and the Icy Wind was fanned straight back at Pilomino, who cringed as the small shards hit it.

Erik pointed at Dragonite. "Take Down!"

Pilomino shuffled its small feet surprisingly fast, hurtling across the room and smashing into Dragonite, who stumbled backwards, but recovered quickly.

"Aqua Tail!" commanded Delta, without hesitation. Dragonite obeyed immediately, whipping its giant tail around, water spouting from the end, and hitting Pilomino violently in the face. Pilomino crashed backwards, tipping over onto its back.

"_Crap!" _thought Erik. "Quick, Pilomino, get back on your feet before it can attack again!"

The mammoth rolled to the side just before Dragonite stomped on the ground where it had been, actually cracking the floor tiles with the force.

"Ice Beam, now!" ordered Erik, and Pilomino launched the attack from point-blank range, hitting Dragonite directly in the stomach. Despite being effective against both of Dragonite's types, the attack didn't seem to do much damage, only causing it to roar in pain. Suddenly Dragonite's hand burst into flames. Pulling its fist back, the dragon launched a Fire Punch onto Pilomino, having a much bigger effect than the Ice Beam.

"Oh no!" gasped Erik. Pilomino struggled back to its feet, and Delta frowned.

"How is that thing still standing?" she asked.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," replied Erik, neglecting to mention that Pilomino had used Endure to survive the attack. "_Delta is stronger than I thought..." _

"Well, it's still on its last legs!" smirked Delta. "Slam it!"

Dragonite lowered its head, and tackled Pilomino violently, quickly defeating the icy pokemon. Erik grimaced for the third time that battle, and withdrew Pilomino.

"Damn, that Dragonite is tough," he muttered. "Well, let's see it face up against Lobman! I choose you!"

With a flash of light, his Crawdaunt burst from his pokeball. As the giant lobster landed, it clicked it claws menacingly.

"Let's get the first hit, Lobman! Use Crabhammer!"

Lobman jumped forwards, holding both of its pincers high in the air. They glowed grey, and turned as hard as rock. Swinging them through the air, they struck Dragonite hard in the chest, who retched violently, sending spit flying out of its mouth, all over the unfortunate Lobman.

"It was a critical hit!" exclaimed Erik.

"Fight back, you layabout!" growled Delta. "Come on, use Thunderpunch, damn it!"

Dragonite straightened up, clutching its chest, but let go on Delta's orders, and its fist crackled with sparks. Lobman gurgled in pain as hundreds of volts of electricity surged through it, collapsing to the ground with smoke pouring from its joints.

"_Wow, taken down with one Thunderpunch..."_ thought Erik. "_That thing is powerful!"_

Returning his pokemon to its ball, he grabbed two more.

"Time for a double attack! Hamm and Zap, you can do it!"

The two pokeballs flew through the air, and opened, white light pouring from both. The light formed into two shapes, one a Hariyama and the other a Rotom. Delta laughed again.

"Erik, playing dirty I see, two versus one? I'm really stretching you to your limits, aren't I?"

"It's not dirty when it's against a criminal like you, Delta!" snapped Erik. "Alright guys, team attack. Seismic Toss and then Thunderbolt!"

"Quick, dodge!" screamed Delta, but Dragonite had barely flown a few metres away when Hamm grabbed its tail, and with extreme strength swung it around, letting go and sending Dragonite soaring high into the air. Zap charged up and sent a huge bolt zigzagging at the flying mass, which exploded in sparks as the electricity hit it. Dragonite fell to the ground, smoking.

"Get _up, _you lump!" screeched Delta, her anger showing on her face again. Erik grimaced for what felt like the millionth time, and found that he was sweating from the tension. As he watched, Dragonite clambered back up, and charged at his two pokemon.

"Outrage!"

The mythical dragon glowed with a fierce, purple fire as it channelled Delta's anger into raw power.

"Guys, get out of the way!" roared Erik.

Hamm tried to leap to the side, but its massive bulk slowed it down, and Dragonite clipped the fighting creature as it charged by. The power of the Outrage was so immense that despite being only nicked by the attack, Hamm was knocked across the room, where it smashed into the wall.

"Hamm, are you ok?" cried Erik, but it was motionless. Reluctantly, and with a sad feeling of guilt at the pain he was putting his pokemon through, Erik called the Hariyama back.

"You did pretty well, Hamm," he said to the pokeball it was in. Meanwhile, Zap's ghost-like form and its speed had enabled it to evade the Outrage, but only just.

"I know! We'll slow it down...use Thunder Wave," called Erik. Zap spun in rapid circles, generating a small amount of sparks and firing them at Dragonite.

"Safeguard, Dragonite."

A shield shimmered around Dragonite, and the sparks bounced off. Delta smirked. "Do you really think that I'd actually let my pokemon be paralysed, Erik?" she asked.

Erik gave her a look of hatred. "This isn't over yet. You made a big mistake by opening the roof, Delta," he announced, and looked up to see dark clouds in the sky. "Thunder attack, Zap!"

Delta seemed scared for the first time. "No!"

Zap concentrated, and then sent a stream of electrons into the clouds hovering above. Suddenly, there was a thunderous boom, and a massive bolt of lightning stormed down, and struck Dragonite directly on top of the head. Without warning, there was an explosion, originating from the point where electricity connected with dragon.

When the smoke cleared, Dragonite was down on one knee, breathing heavily. The top of its head was scorched.

"Good work, Zap!" called Erik.

Delta's face turned angry again. "What are you waiting for, you moron? Use Outrage!"

Once again, purple flames erupted around Dragonite, and it dashed at Zap before the ghost had time to move. The Rotom fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Return, Zap!" muttered Erik. Dragonite had come under heavy fire, and was severely injured, but there was a still a high chance of Erik losing this fight. He knew that Delta would push it to the very end, even if the fight killed it. She was ruthless, and didn't care for her pokemon the way a trainer should.

Choosing his pokemon, he threw the pokeball high into the air.

"Go, Glisclaw!"

His Gliscor, looking like a giant bat, swooped from its ball. Dragonite took off, soaring up to meet the new opponent.

"Dragon Rage!"

Dragonite opened its mouth wide, and a sparkling white ball of energy formed just in front of the gaping hole, which then flew at Glisclaw, who used its speed, and wings, to dive under it.

"X-Scissor!" ordered Erik, and Glisclaw crossed its arms in front of it, zooming at Dragonite the entire time, catching it unawares. Just as it reached the winged behemoth, the bat uncrossed its arms savagely, slashing Dragonite in the stomach as it did so. Dragonite tumbled in the air, but quickly caught itself again, and hurtled back towards Glisclaw, smashing it a Dragon Rush.

Glisclaw blacked out, and fell back to the floor.

"_And then there was one," _Erik couldn't help thinking, as he collected Glisclaw back into its ball.

By now Erik wasn't the only one sweating. He could see Delta was nervous, and you couldn't blame her. Dragonite was exhausted, and Erik still had his strongest pokemon: Blaze.

"It's nearly down, you can do it!" cried Erik, as his best pokemon entered the fray. His Blaziken had much more power than the other pokemon that he trained, and was his main powerhouse. Usually saved for last, it rarely lost. But even with Dragonite on its last legs, there was still a chance that Blaze could lose.

"Alright, this is it. Blaze Kick!"

Blaze charged at Dragonite, and its foot set aflame. It leapt into the air, and swung its foot horizontally, but Dragonite ducked, and the attack missed.

"Thunderpunch!" commanded Delta.

Dragonite's fist crackled, and it tried to punch Blaze, but the fiery pokemon caught the fist. Dragonite twisted into an Aqua Tail, but Blaze jumped into the air, dodging. It landed behind Dragonite, and they both spun to face each other.

"Attack!" shouted Erik and Delta at the same time. The two pokemon both lashed out with both hands, and their fingers interlocked with each other, forcing them into a battle of raw strength as each one tried to shove the other over. Erik frowned. In its weakened state, Dragonite was around the same level of power as Blaze. This was going to be a close match, but who would win?

Blaze tightened its grip on Dragonite's hands and threw the giant dragon over its shoulder. Dragonite slid across the floor and hit the wall.

"Keep it up!" encouraged Erik.

"Just kill this runt already, you weakling!" yelled Delta, contrastingly different to Erik.

Dragonite climbed to its feet yet again, but hesitated. Blaze was fast, agile, and fresh, whereas Dragonite was injured, in pain, and exhausted, but it wasn't going to give in yet. Summoning new energy, it flew directly at Blaze and clipped its wings against the fighting pokemon as it passed. Blaziken was knocked over, but jumped back up. Dragonite flew back around the room, and landed against the opposite wall, facing the Blaziken.

"Let's finish this, Delta!"

"Finally, we agree on something! Dragonite...Hyper Beam attack!"

"Prepare yourself, Blaze," warned Erik. Blaze nodded, as Dragonite opened its mouth and charged up an energy beam. With a loud bang, it released the Hyper Beam at Blaze, who stood still. It had to time this perfectly.

"Now! Sky Uppercut!"

Blaze drew back its arm, and then unleashed a massive punch, which connected with the beam, halting it. However, the energy kept on coming, and it turned into another battle of power as each of them struggled, with Dragonite trying to break through Blaze's guard, and Blaze trying to split the Hyper Beam so it wouldn't be harmed. Unfortunately, it seemed like they were of equal strength, for neither came closer to overpowering the other.

"_Come on, Blaze...Pull through!"_ thought Erik desperately. "_You can do it!"_

Delta's face was strained and tense, but she somehow managed to also look angry at the same time. Suddenly, her face turned to shock as Blaze bunched up its legs and leapt over the Hyper Beam, which, without Blaze holding it back, continued on its way, Erik diving out of the way just in time. Meanwhile, Blaze landed and charged at Dragonite, who answered it with enthusiasm.

"Sky Uppercut!"

"Dragon Rush!"

Both pokemon concentrated all of their energy into their fists, and they met in mid-punch. Sparks shot out the sides of the connected fists, and both pokemon were struggling. Suddenly, there was an explosion, and the view of the fight was blocked by smoke. Erik gritted his teeth nervously, and the smoke cleared to reveal both pokemon still standing, on opposite sides of the battlefield.

Blaze was leaning heavily on one leg, the other crippled. It was exhausted from both the fist fight and stopping the Hyper Beam. Facing it, Dragonite was panting heavily, wings bedraggled and tail dropping on the ground. Delta furiously stepped forwards, and climbed onto the dragon's back.

"I might not have won this match, Erik, but neither did you!" she said, and Dragonite hovered into the air with difficulty, Delta riding on it.

"You're _leaving? _Now?" gasped Erik. "You coward! We're in the middle of a fight!"

"It's merely a tactical retreat," cackled Delta. "See you around, Erik!"

Dragonite turned in mid-air, and vanished into the clouds above them. Erik stood, mouth open in surprise and disgust.

"You witch! How dare you!" he yelled, but it was no use. Delta was gone.

**000**

Five minutes later, Erik walked out the door of the building, intent on heading straight to the Pokemon Centre to heal his injured pokemon, most of which had been knocked out in only one or two hits.

But then his attention was distracted by the sight of a figure leaning against the wall outside, his head bowed. The boy was about 17 years old, with black hair and a long fringe in front if his blue eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a red shirt, with long white sleeves.

"Cole?" gasped Erik.

Cole looked up, a small grin on his face. "Hey, Erik. Long time, no see."

Erik stood still for a second, an incredulous expression on his face, before he ran forwards and gave Cole a massive hug, who returned it after a short pause. Erik stepped back and stared at Cole, an odd mix of surprise and joy spread across his face.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" he asked breathlessly.

Cole scrutinised his old apprentice for a few seconds. "Is my "being here" really that much of a shock?" he joked. "No, I've been in town for a few days, but I came here now 'cause I heard that you'd broken into the Epsilon Base."

Erik was confused. "How did you know that?" he asked. "Who told you?"

Cole smiled slightly again, and held out his arm. A Chatot flew down and roosted on his outstretched limb.

"Ah, of course!" said Erik, understanding filling his mind. "Chatot saw me. But why are you here in the first place? And why didn't you show up quicker. It was no picnic fighting Delta up there, you know!"

"I wanted to see how strong you'd gotten," replied Cole coolly, returning Chatot to a pokeball. "And judging on the fact that you're still here, I'm guessing that you've beaten her. Good work, Erik. You've grown extraordinarily since that time, almost four years ago, when I took you under my wing."

"All thanks to you," complimented Erik, smiling.

Cole shook his head. "No. The thanks go to you, and your pokemon."

"Anyway, you still haven't told me why you're in Metrosan."

Cole's expression changed. Erik knew that look. It meant that trouble was ahead. Deep trouble. And what bode unwell for Cole, bode unwell for everybody.

"Let's walk," said Cole, and set off in the direction of the Pokemon Centre without waiting for Erik, leaving him to catch up. "Almonie's contacted me," Cole said.

Erik's bulged. "You're serious?"

Cole nodded. "She had interesting news. The Pendant's have moved on."

"No way!_"_

"Yep. And you'll be surprised at their new owners. I think you know them..."

Erik drew in his breath. "You mean..."

"Yes. Jaden and Sammy now both hold Pendants. Jaden has the Symbol of Life; Sammy has the Symbol of Knowledge."

"But...why do they have them? What could possibly happen that would cause the Oracle to give up the Life Pendant, and how did Sammy get the Knowledge Pendant?"

"Sammy was given hers by Sakin. Almonie said that Sammy saved the Pendant from Team Epsilon, and he gave it her in thanks."

"What about Jaden?"

Cole paused. "Times are changing, Erik. Epsilon is growing more powerful. We can't fight this war on our own, but a great battle lies ahead. I can sense it, and Almonie can too. The Oracle passed on the Pendant to Jaden in order to prepare him for what's to come."

"But surely we can handle this. Epsilon can't be that strong that won't be able to stop them!"

"I'm not sure we can do it this time, Erik. The Force can't do it on our own. We _need more members."_

Erik stopped walking. Could Cole possible mean what he thought he meant? "What are talking about?"

Cole smiled sadly. "Jaden and Sammy aren't the only ones that are chosen by the Pendants," he said. "I've sensed for a while that you have been selected too."

Erik's jaw dropped as Cole reached to his neck, where two Pendants rested under his shirt. Cole took one of them off and placed it around Erik's neck.

"The Power Pendant," he said. "It's yours now. It belongs to you."

Erik was speechless. Finally, he choked out a few words. "You really think that I'm worthy?"

"Absolutely," answered Cole, as they reached the Pokemon Centre. However, he didn't make any moves towards the door, but rather placed his hands on Erik's shoulders. "I need you to contact Jaden and Sammy. Tell them to come to Metrosan immediately. We want them on the Force, Erik. We _need _them on the Force. And we need you too."

Erik nodded. "What about you?"

"We'll need to combine out strength if we are to defeat Omega. I'll join you until Jaden and Sammy get here. From then on, who knows? We'll decide that when the time comes. Now, go heal your pokemon, and call Jaden and Sammy. You know where to find me. We have much to talk about."

And with those final words, Cole turned and walked away. Erik shook his head. This was more worrisome than had first thought. And it was about to get a whole lot worse.

**000**

And the great Cole returns! Don't worry if that conversation at the end didn't make much sense...it will in time. But who is this Force that Cole mentioned? And what are the Pendant's true powers? Stay tuned to find out!

Oh yeah, just one more thing. You might be wondering about the thing I wrote explaining how Delta is probably the third strongest trainer in Team Epsilon, behind Omega and Gamma. "But Erik defeated Gamma's Aggron with a single Blaze Kick!" I here you cry. "How could he possibly be stronger than Delta?" Well, as Erik said in the fight against Alpha, that Aggron was not one of Gamma's main fighting pokemon. He hadn't had it for very long. His true team is stronger than you might think...

See you around, and Merry Christmas to you all!


	32. The Rage of Ryo

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

Hello!

As you probably know if you're reading this, last time we saw Jaden he and Paul had broken into a Team Epsilon base just outside of Amonis Town. At the top of the building, he found the newest Epsilon Admin...Ryo.

**000**

"Ryo?" asked Paul. "Who's Ryo?"

Jaden drew in his breath. He still couldn't believe that _Ryo _had joined Team Epsilon. When they had met, Jaden had taken an intense dislike towards the older boy for his cruel attitude towards pokemon, but he never would have thought that Ryo would turn to the other side. "Ryo is Shadess' old student. After I battled him last time, Shadess dismissed him because he was too rough. Remember when I told you how I got Flare?"

Paul remembered, and shuddered. "Of course, how could I forget?"

"Now, into business," said Ryo, smirking. "As I said before, I challenge you to a battle. If you win, the kid goes free, and I leave. But if I win...well then, first of all you come with me back to my leader. He's very interested in meeting you. As well as that...well, I'm not sure the boy will survive his trip out the window..."

Paul roared in rage, and lunged at Ryo, swinging his fist back.

"Not so fast!" snapped Ryo, and his Weavile placed a clawed hand to Ryan's throat. The youth was roped to the chair, with tape over his mouth, preventing him from talking. "You touch me and the kid gets it!"

"How could you do this?" asked Jaden, disgusted. "Why did you join them? Even you couldn't sink that low."

Ryo laughed. It was long, and drawn out, and fully displayed Ryo's madness. "Couldn't I? You destroyed me, Jaden! My life was ruined after Shadess got rid of me, I had nowhere to go! But I guess I have to thank you, because if it weren't for you, I never would have come across Team Epsilon. They promised me power. They promised me respect. They helped me evolve my Sneasel. Now battle me, Jaden!"

Jaden thought as hard as he could, as Paul backed up to stand next to him again, anguish covering his face. At that sight, Jaden made up his mind.

"No. I won't battle you. Let Ryan go, and I'll go with you willingly."

"Jaden, no!" interjected Paul. "You can't go with him!"

"I have to, Paul," said Jaden quietly, his gaze falling to the floor. "What if I lose? He'll kill Ryan."

"Jaden, listen to me," murmured Paul, and he lifted Jaden's chin so that the boy was looking at him. "You won't lose. You're too good for him. I believe in you."

Jaden's eyed filled with fear at the thought of failure, but then it was gone, and he nodded. Suddenly, a menacing growl echoed through the room. Everybody turned to see Flare standing in the doorway, having dispatched all of the grunts downstairs. After running upstairs to join Jaden, it had seen its old master, and dark memories of pain and endless fighting were recalled.

Flare gave a savage bark, and bounded across the room, ready to sink its teeth into its hated original trainer. Ryo gave a yell of fear, and backed away. Flare was just about to attack him when a voice rang out.

"Flare, _stop! _Heel, boy."

Flare, still growling and baring its teeth viciously in Ryo's direction, backed off. Its hackles were raised, and its forked tail was raised high in the air. Jaden gave the enraged canine a pat on the head to calm it down a little, and Ryo grinned, despite the danger he had just been in.

"So, someone finally managed to tame that mutt. It was always worthless and disobedient!"

"Shut up, Ryo! If you knew how tempted I am to let Flare get you..." muttered Jaden. "Get back inside your ball, buddy."

Jaden held up Flare's pokeball, and the Houndoom grudgingly submitted, and was converted to red light, which was sucked into the ball.

"OK, Ryo! What are your conditions?"

"Hmm, let me see...A one on one battle, I think. Let's replay the past: Weavile against Riolu."

This technically wasn't correct. Last time they had duelled, it had been Sneasel battling Sonyk, but Jaden wasn't about to go correcting him. "Funny. I half expected you too just attack me."

Ryo laughed. "I _was _trained by Shadess, Jaden. Her pathetic rules of chivalry and fairness are still firmly fixed in my mind. This will be a fair fight," he said, and then added in a patronising tone at the end, "_I promise."_

"Alright. Go, Sonyk! You can do it!"

Sonyk burst from its ball and stretched.

"_Ah, good to be back!" _it said. Like usual, it was projecting its thoughts so that everybody in the room could hear.

"This'll be tough? You up to it?"

"_Look who you're talking to!"_

Jaden smiled at Sonyk's ever-present casualness, despite the situation. "Let's rock, Ryo!"

"My pleasure!" the enemy answered. The room was entirely empty, and the floor was marked with lines to create an arena of sorts. The corners of the room were dark, but the centre, where the arena was, was lit up. Weavile stepped forwards, into the box. Sonyk also advanced, and they stared angrily at each other. It was quite ironic. Both pokemon were powerful, but both were fairly small.

"Good luck, Jaden." Paul, despite his earlier confidence in the boy, seemed quite nervous.

"What are we waiting for?" questioned Ryo. "Let's get this show on the road! Weavile, Night Slash!"

There was no other way to describe it; Weavile was fast. Displaying the same speed that it had showcased in their first fight, the ice/dark type blitzed across the room and swiped its claws at Sonyk, who only just managed to jump out of the way.

"Karate Chop!" ordered Jaden. Sonyk leaped back at Weavile, who rolled backwards, the attack missing it. _"Damn, it's quick."_

"_I know, eh? This'll be tough, but I can do it. They don't call me Sonyk for nothing!"_

"_Try a Force Palm!"_

"_Rightio."_

Sonyk bounced forwards, but Weavile outmanoeuvred it, dodging the attack again.

"Argh...Sonyk can't land a hit, Weavile's to quick," muttered Paul, who was standing at the side of the room. "Keep trying."

"Use Scratch, Weavile!" said Ryo.

Unlike Sonyk, Weavile had no problem landing a hit, and Sonyk staggered backwards with three long scratch marks on its face.

"Follow up with a Shadow Claw!" commanded Ryo ruthlessly.

"Dodge it, Sonyk!"

Sonyk tried to leap out of the way, but to no avail. Weavile's Shadow Claw connected, sending the small Aura Guardian tumbling over backwards.

"Oh, deary me," taunted Ryo. "Too slow."

Jaden scowled. "Sonyk, use Quick Attack!"

For the first time, Weavile was caught off guard as Sonyk's speed increased dramatically, smashing the dark pokemon across the room. Weavile landed, and skidded a few metres, before clambering back up.

"Icy Wind!"

Ryo's pokemon opened its mouth, and a swift stream of freezing cold air littered with shards of ice shot out. Sonyk was caught in the wind, and battered by the sharp snowflakes.

"Oh no...This isn't good," murmured Jaden. "_Come on, Sonyk. Drain Punch!"_

Sonyk's fist glowed green, and it ran at Weavile, fighting through the biting Icy Wind. Weavile, focused on the attack, wasn't prepared as Sonyk launched towards it, and connected the blazing fist. Weavile gasped as some of its energy was transferred to Sonyk, and it fell to one knee. Sonyk jumped through the air, performing a mid-air back flip, and landed lightly on both feet.

Now it was Ryo's turn to scowl.

"Get up! What are you waiting for, attack it at once! Metal Claw!"

Weavile's claws turned as hard as steel, and it lunged at Sonyk, swiping it across the cheek with the metal talons. Sonyk was knocked backwards.

"Don't give in, Sonyk! Return!"

Sonyk fought back, and its glowing fist struck Weavile on the chest. Ryo's pokemon was pushed back a few inches from the force, but it somehow resisted against the attack. Jaden caught sight of Ryo's triumphant grin.

"_Crap in a bucket! Sonyk, get out of there!"_

Sonyk saw what Jaden had realised through their mind link, and dived backwards.

"Looks like I've outsmarted you, Jaden. You fell into the same trap as last time! Counter, Weavile!" order Ryo coldly. Weavile stepped towards Sonyk, and pulled back its fist. Sonyk tried to dodge, but Weavile's attack hit it dead in the face...and kept on going straight through.

"_What?" _screamed Ryo.

"Looks like _I _outsmarted _you, _Ryo! Sonyk used Double Team, and the copy took the attack!" smirked Jaden. "Sonyk, Force Palm!"

Weavile turned around just in time to catch the attack in its stomach, and was blown across the room by the aura. It smacked into the far wall, leaving an enormous crack.

Ryo's eyes flashed with anger. "You've done it now, Jaden. Weavile, prepare your Shadow Ball attack!"

"Not good," muttered Jaden under his breath, as Weavile placed its hands in front of its chest, palms facing each other. An orb of darkness appeared between the hands, growing larger.

"Good luck dodging this one! It's too fast to avoid!" jeered Ryo. "Unleash the attack!"

Weavile raised the ball above its head and then hurled the shadow at Sonyk, who braced itself. The ball grew closer and closer.

"_Now!"_ said Jaden, in Sonyk's head.

"_It's time!" _it answered, and jumped high into the air, over the Shadow Ball.

"Impossible!" screamed Ryo in disbelief.

"Alright, Sonyk! Show them your real power!" cried Jaden.

"_I've been waiting for this for a long time_!"answered Sonyk, and to everybody else's disbelief except Jaden's, its entire body glowed white. The Riolu did a somersault in mid-air, and landed behind Weavile, glowing almost too bright to look at. Suddenly, white flames began to spurt off it, and it grew larger. Slowly, the light faded to reveal a Lucario in its place.

"No _way!" _gasped Paul. "It evolved!"

"This can't be!" screeched Ryo, panic surging through his body, overwhelming his mind.

"_It's over!" _said Sonyk. Its voice was a lot deeper than before, and gruff. It sounded a lot like the Lucario from the eighth pokemon movie.

Jaden grinned. "Good work, Sonyk." He pulled out Chip the Pokedex, and looked at Sonyk's new moves.

"About time I had a cameo," muttered Chip.

Ryo was visibly frightened at the Lucario that now stood facing him. "B-but that's not fair!" he whimpered. "You can't just evolve your pokemon in the middle of a match!"

"Are you scared?"

Ryo toughened up. "Hell no! You might have gotten a little stronger, but I can still beat you. Weavile, Metal Claw!"

"You too, Sonyk!"

Sonyk raised an arm, and steel claws shot out the end of its knuckles like Wolverine. As Weavile reached it, Sonyk answered, and the steel claws meshed together and made a horrible clanging noise. Each pokemon struggled to overpower the other, but Sonyk, completely refreshed from its evolution, was clearly the stronger, and Weavile was thrown against the wall for the second time.

"Fury Attack!"

Weavile stumbled back to its feet, and rapidly slashed at Sonyk, but it was no use. When it had evolved, Sonyk's speed at increased massively, and it was on par with Weavile. The swipes that it didn't dodge, it intercepted.

"No...this is impossible..." whispered Ryo, as Sonyk shoved Weavile backwards. "Shadow Ball again!"

Weavile charged up another energy ball, and hurled it at Sonyk.

"Bone Rush!" said Jaden quickly. Sonyk created a large bone about a metre long out of nothing but Aura, and spun it unbelievably fast in a circle. The Shadow Ball hit the bone and rebounded, flying past Ryo and smashing the window behind him. Shards of glass poured down the side of the window.

"Let's finish this off! Aura Sphere!"

Sonyk bought its arms to one side, and a bright blue energy ball appeared. Sonyk grunted, and hurled the sphere at Weavile, who couldn't dodge fast enough, and was hit in the stomach. It was sent flying back, and landed hard on the ground, unconscious. Ryo backed away in disbelief.

"I can't believe this," he gasped. "How could this be happening?"

"Yeah! You did it, Jaden!" cried Paul, punching the air with his fist.

"Good work, Sonyk," smirked Jaden, and raised his pokeball. "Return."

"_Aww, can't I stay out and show off a little more?"_

Jaden laughed. "Come on."

Sonyk grumbled, but went inside the ball.

"Now, let Ryan go!" ordered Paul.

Ryo was furious, and returned Weavile to its ball, but then grabbed another one from his belt. "You're not leaving, and the kid isn't going either! This battle isn't over!"

"Yes, it is!"

The voice came seemingly out of nowhere. After all, who else was in the room apart from Jaden, Paul, Ryo and Ryan? But the voice didn't belong to any of them. And then the owner revealed himself.

Out of the shadowy corner stepped a man. In his black Team Epsilon outfit he had blended in perfectly amongst the shadows, and had been invisible, until now. Jaden squinted at this newcomer. He knew he had seen the man before, but where?

He was tall, with short, brown hair, and black eyes. His face was hard, and he looked like he had been through a lot of battles, yet at the same time looked young, thirty years old at the most. Suddenly, Jaden remembered where had seen this man...

"Gamma!" snapped Ryo. He looked even angrier than before. "Stay out of my affairs! This is my fight!"

"Gamma?" muttered Paul to Jaden. "Isn't he an admin for Team Epsilon?"

Jaden nodded, as Gamma answered Ryo.

"No, it is not. It is not anybody's fight." Gamma's tone was cynical; he seemed to hold Ryo in contempt. "This battle is over, Ryo. You lost."

"Don't call me that," snarled Ryo. "I told you to call me Beta!"

"You don't give the orders around here, boy! _I do!" _roared Gamma ferociously. "And I'll call you whatever I _damn_ well please!"

Jaden actually took a step back. Gamma seemed almost irrationally angry, although he couldn't guess why. Weren't Gamma and Ryo on the same side?

"_Maybe they just don't like each other," _he thought.

"How dare you!" retaliated Ryo.

"You made a promise," hissed Gamma, voice dripping with so much menace that you could almost taste it. "You swore that if Jaden won, he could go! Hold true to your oaths, _Ryo. _Now get out of here!"

The Admin ripped a pokeball from his belt and flung it at Ryo. Jaden drew in his breath, thinking that Gamma was going to release a pokemon, but instead the ball stayed shut, and Ryo caught it. He chuckled in disbelief.

"You're serious?" he said incredulously. "You're just-just gonna let them go, are you? Well, fine!" Ryo held his hands up, palms out, as if surrendering. "You go ahead! But you're gonna cop Hell from Lord Omega when you get back."

Ryo tossed the pokeball that Gamma had given him out the shattered window, and this time it opened. In a burst of light, a Skarmory was released. It flew back around and hovered next to the window.

"And I'll be sure to tell him exactly what happened here," sneered Ryo, and leapt deftly out the window onto Skarmory's back. The steel bird shrieked and flew away into the distance. Gamma glared at the window in hatred.

"Brat," he muttered, and turned his head to look at Jaden and Paul, who were both instantly on guard. "Relax," he said, waving a hand casually. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not as barbaric as _some _people," he added, glaring at the window again. When neither followed his instructions, he let out a long sigh and strode over to Ryan, who was still tied up in the chair. The boy's eyes widened as Gamma slipped a small dagger out of his pocket.

"Hey!" snapped Paul. "Get away from him!"

Gamma turned a baleful eye on him. "Oh, please. If I really wanted to harm the kid, it'd be too late to stop me," and within a few seconds had sliced through the ropes binding Ryan. The ten year old jumped straight off the chair, ripped the tape off his mouth and ran to Paul, who scooped him up into a bear hug. Jaden was still staring at Gamma.

"Why are you helping us?" he asked cautiously.

"I may be a criminal, but I have honour," replied Gamma. Paul was unconvinced.

"There's no honour amongst thieves," he recited.

Gamma turned his gaze to the large man. "Maybe you're right," he said bitterly. "But compared to my colleagues, I'm overflowing with it." He paused, and then added, "And now I must take my leave. Farewell."

The admin averted his gaze from them to the door, and strode towards it. Jaden watched him leave, and just as Gamma reached the exit, he blurted out the man's name.

"Gamma!"

Gamma stopped, and turned his head almost one hundred and eighty degrees to look at Jaden, who looked back nervously.

"Yes?"

Jaden hesitated, but then spoke what was on his mind. "Thank-you."

He thought he saw the corners of the man's mouth turn up slightly, but then the smile was gone.

"I'm sorry I attacked you, Jaden. That day, outside of Huckleberry Town. Believe me, if I had of known who you were, I would not have acted so rashly. Don't get me wrong, we're still enemies, but sometimes I wonder why. You and I are not as different as you first thought. Think about that."

Because of the angle of Gamma's head, only Jaden could see his face, and so only Jaden saw the faint shadow of a wink that Gamma gave him. Then he turned and was gone.

Behind him, the admin left only silence, which was eventually shattered by Paul.

"What did he mean?" the big man asked. "Is he trying to convince you to join Team Epsilon or something?"

"I don't know...it's weird," answered Jaden. At that very moment, his Pokegear rang. Jaden pulled the device out of his bag and looked at the screen. Erik was the caller! Jaden quickly answered the call and brought the Pokegear to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Jaden? Is that you?" came Erik's voice.

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"Jaden, this is important. You need to come to Metrosan City as soon as possible. It's urgent."

Erik was in the Pokemon Centre in Metrosan. After Nurse Joy #846 had taken his pokemon away to be healed, he had sat down at one of the tables in the Centre and followed Cole's instructions, calling Jaden.

"Huh? Metrosan City? Why?"

"I don't have time to explain. You have to come, Cole's orders."

"Cole?" gasped Jaden. "He's there too?"

"Yes. I just battled Delta, an admin from Team Epsilon. Cole turned up afterwards."

"Did you beat her?" asked Jaden.

"No. She flew away in the middle of the fight, but at the rate it was going either of us could have won...Jaden, is it true that you have the Life Pendant?"

"Yeah, why?" asked Jaden.

"Listen to me. Do not let that Pendant out of your sight. If it gets lost...then we all do," said Erik seriously.

"What's going on? You're acting really weird," said Jaden.

"I'm sorry. If you knew how vital the situation is, you'd understand. Get to Metrosan soon."

"But Erik! I'm just outside Amonis Town. It would take me at least two weeks to get to Metrosan City!"

"Find a way," answered Erik. "Please, find a way. I have to go."

"Wait! I have to tell you, pass it on to Cole. Team Epsilon has a new admin; it's Ryo, Shadess' old student. I just battled him now."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and then Erik spoke again. "Then it's even more important that you get here."

He hung up. Jaden lowered the Pokegear in confusion. How was he going to get to Metrosan City quickly enough?

"What did Erik want?" asked Paul.

"He needs me to go to Metrosan City as quick as I can," answered Jaden. "But how can I get there in time?"

"Well..." suggested Paul. "Do you wanna catch a ride with us?"

"Catch a ride?"

"Yeah. Me and Ryan are going to Metrosan anyway, and since the Blind Oracle transported us right out here, I was gonna hire a car and drive the distance. We could get there in three days!"

Jaden's face lit up. "You'd really drive me there?"

Paul laughed, and patted Jaden on the back. "Jaden, my boy, you just saved Ryan's life. Even if I drove you all the way to Viridian City in Kanto I still wouldn't have payed you back! Now let's get out of this place."

He turned and walked out the door, Ryan following close behind. The trio walked in silence down the stairs, which suited Jaden fine. It left him time to think about the suspicion that was plaguing his mind.

_You and I are not as different as you first thought. Think about that._

Could Gamma be the man that Professor Palm had sent him to find?

**000**

Gamma stood in Omega's Throne Room, staring up at the shadowy figure in the chair, who was looking down upon him.

"You have failed me again, Gamma. You had the boy within your grasp, and yet you let him go. Never before have you disobeyed me so. If you were anybody else, you would not survive such insubordination. And yet...you are my most loyal follower. Normally, I would forgive you, and only you, but lately you haven't been very faithful..."

"I beg your forgiveness, sir," requested Gamma stiffly.

Gamma was silent, but then laughed so quietly that Gamma almost didn't hear it.

"You spoke the truth to the boy. You have honour, and I respect that. That is why I will forgive you this time. But trust me, Gamma. You are on your absolute last warning. You may go."

Gamma felt as if a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but walked patiently out of the Throne Room, hiding his relief expertly. Despite being exceptional at hiding his emotions, he couldn't help grinning at Ryo as he passed him in the hallway outside. As Gamma walked through HQ, he turned his thoughts to the boy who had almost gotten him in so much trouble.

"_I helped you this time, Jaden, but next time I might not be so charitable."_

**000**

So, Gamma helped out the good guys, huh? Hmm, could he really be the missing man? Well, whoever he is, he's my favourite character in my own story. And Sonyk evolved! Lucario FTW! Mwahahahaha!

As you might have noticed, the battle in this chapter was written more in the style of my first 15 chapters or so. I feel like lately the battles have been getting more and more generic and boring, but my old battles like in Chapter 9 were really detailed and interesting, so I've tried to regain my former style.

Next time, Sammy arrives home, but why is her Father packing up the house? An expedition, he says, but is that really what it is? And what is the present that he's got prepared for Sammy? A Pokemon, maybe? Wait and find out!

Oh yes, I have interesting news. Some of you may know Hotrod198, another author on this website. Anyway, me and him are great mates, so we decided to do a collaboration fic together, using the concept of my creation, Yugimon, which is a fusion of Yugioh and Pokemon. If you like Yugioh, and I'm sure you like Pokemon because you're reading this, then you'll want to check it out. The story is called "YuGiMon: Legendary Crusaders", and is under the name Animasterod2198, a fusion of our usernames. Have fun reading! It's a pretty sweet gig.

I'll see you all later!


	33. Return to Huckleberry

**Pokemon **

**Aura Adventure**

Hey guys! Now, as you may or may not (more likely) know, today is the one-year anniversary of Aura Adventure! Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been a whole year. Anyway, what better way to celebrate AA's birthday than to return to Huckleberry Town, where it all began?

Let us begin!

**000**

Sammy smiled cheerfully as she passed under the large gate guarding the entrance of Huckleberry Town. She was finally home. It had been almost a month and a half since she had last been here, in her hometown. Never before had she been gone so long.

The blonde was weary, she was tired. She'd been sleeping in a tent ever since leaving Nasbite Town, when she had come in second to Jenny in the Nasbite Contest. Sammy hadn't stopped on the way through Cleardawn Town, only taking a brief rest to farewell Shadess, who had accompanied the younger girl home. She thought back to the gym, where the boy, Randall, had wiped the floor with the Gym Leader.

And now, two days later, she was home. Finally. And the first thing to do was see her Father. Weaving through town like it was the back of her hand, she reached the laboratory of Professor Palm. Grinning, she placed her hand on the door handle, and swung it open. Inside was absolute chaos.

Every table was covered in papers, and cardboard boxes packed the brims with books. Paper was all over the floor as well. In the middle of the room was a large trunk, the lid wide open, but was packed to the brim with even more papers and books. As Sammy picked her way through the mess, she caught sight of her Father in the corner, atop of an enormous stepladder, attempting to pull a box off the top of a bookshelf. It was obviously heavy, and he was trying to find a way to pull it off and keep his balance on the ladder at the same time.

"Hi, Dad!" said Sammy brightly.

Palm craned his neck around, and spotted Sammy. Unfortunately, the long sleeve of his lab coat got caught onto the corner of the box, and dragged it off the shelf, causing him to lose his balance. Palm tumbled off the ladder, and to make it worse, the box crashed down on him, sending heavy books and leaflets spinning all around the floor.

"Dad, are you OK?"

Sammy dashed forwards, and cleared the heavy items off her parent, flinging the cardboard box over her shoulder. Palm sat up groggily, cross-eyed, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. His crazy yellow hair swung around in the air violently. Sammy couldn't help grinning. Her father's hair suited his name; it looked exactly like the leaves on a palm tree.

"I'm alright..." he said, shaking his head again. Slowly, he stood up, and looked at Sammy, confused. Suddenly, the man seemed to fully come back to his senses, and he pulled her into a hug.

"Hello, sweetie! How's it going? Did you get home safely?"

Sammy laughed. "No, Dad. I'm still stuck out in the wilderness. Of course I made it home safely."

"You know that I worry about you. How's Shadess? And Jaden?"

"They're both fine," answered Sammy, and then gestured around the lab with her hand. "What's all...this?"

Palm bit his lip. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sammy. Something's come up. I know you just got home, but I've just had an emergency call, and I have to leave for Metrosan City tomorrow."

Sammy's face fell slightly. "Oh. That's OK, Dad, don't worry. I don't mind."

Palm looked upset. "I'm _so _sorry, but it's urgent. A helicopter's coming to pick me up at ten tomorrow morning. You'll be OK on your own for a few days, right?"

Sammy nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"That's good. I've left some microwave meals in the freezer for you, so you can cook them. Also, there's some money in the safe if you need it to buy more food. But don't go crazy, alright?"

Sammy grinned. "Thanks Dad."

Palm smiled at her, and then snapped his fingers. "Oh, I almost forgot! You made me so proud in the Titanium Cup, so I got you a little present. Now, where did I put it?"

He turned around and started rifling through the papers on the nearest table, and eventually picked up a small red and white ball. Turning back to Sammy, he held it out to her.

"Here. It's yours."

"You got me a pokemon?" beamed Sammy, her face lighting up. "Oh, thanks so much, Dad!"

She ran forwards and flung her arms around him. He returned the favour, but unbeknownst to her, his face fell. Sammy was growing up, and was lot more independent. It made him sad. Palm felt his daughter letting go, so he quickly put on a happy face.

"Go on, open it."

Sammy obeyed, releasing the pokemon inside the ball. It appeared in a flash of light, which slowly faded to reveal a blue metallic pokemon, with white spikes at one end and a single red eye. It was a Beldum.

"Wow! Where'd you get it this?" asked Sammy. Beldum were exceedingly rare. In fact, the only trainer she knew personally who had one was Irok, and it wasn't even a Beldum, it was a Metang.

"I hatched it, from an egg," said Palm. "It was part of my research, to find out how to breed a genderless pokemon. And it worked! I've been wondering what to do with it for a while. It's still young, but I've been training it a little."

"I'm gonna call it...Ruby," said Sammy. She bent down on her knees and looked at Ruby. "Hi there. How's it going, little guy?...girl?...whatever. My name's Sammy. I'm your new master."

The Beldum floated up to her, and blinked, making a small metallic noise of confirmation. Sammy picked Ruby up and looked at her Father.

"Can I go play with it? I want to introduce it to my other pokemon."

Palm nodded. "Of course, dear. I need to finish packing anyway. Go have fun with it. Be back before five, I'll take us both out to dinner."

Sammy gave him one last hug, and exited the lab. Ruby blinked at the sunlight, but seemed to adjust to it quickly. Sammy pulled her other pokeballs from her belt and released all of the pokemon inside. Scythe, Xarxar, Fang, and Pincer popped out and stretched.

"Alright, everybody," said Sammy, and she lifted her Beldum up for them to see. "This is my new pokemon, Ruby."

The rest of her pokemon all nodded and smiled at Ruby, and Fang licked the small steel pokemon's face.

"Sammy?" a voice asked. The young girl looked up to see a kindly looking woman in front of her.

"Hi, Mrs Benes. How's it going?"

Mrs Benes smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. Did you just get back? I saw you on TV, you were great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

Mrs Benes held up a finger nervously. "Um...I know you just got back, but can I ask you a favour?"

Sammy nodded. "Of course you can."

"Oh, thank-you. You're so sweet, Sammy. Anyway, my little Janie ran off into Sunlight Forest with her friends again. Do you think you could go tell them to get back here? I always get worried when she goes into that forest. It's dangerous."

Sammy nodded again. "Sure, I'll do it. I can show them my new pokemon."

"What new pokemon?"

Sammy moved to the side to give Mrs Benes a better view of her pokemon.

"Ooh, is that a Beldum? Amazing! Your Father gave you that, right? He mentioned it the other day."

"Yeah, it was a present. Well, I'd better go get Janie and the others. See ya!"

Mrs Benes waved goodbye, and Sammy returned all of her pokemon to their balls, including Ruby. Setting her sights on the forest outside of town, she entered the trees. True to its name, bright sunlight shone through the branches. Not a single patch of grass was darkened. Sammy loved it in Sunlight Forest, she had always gone on long walks in its frondy depths.

After about an hour of walking, loud voices reached her ears.

"_That must be the kids," _she thought, and ran towards the source of the sound. Pushing a large branch out of her way, she entered a clearing to see about six small children. One in particular, a small girl with auburn hair, who was about half Sammy's height, was standing in front of the rest of them, facing a wild Rattata.

"Go, Ziggy!" she called to a small raccoon pokemon, also facing the Rattata. "Tackle attack!"

The Zigzagoon ran forwards and slammed its body into the rat it was fighting. Rattata fell backwards, but picked its small body off the ground and jumped right over Ziggy. Then, it spun around and bit the Zigzagoon on its tail. Ziggy squealed, and twisted out of Rattata's mouth.

"Use Tackle again!" This time, Rattata gave up. It turned around and dashed away into the bushes.

"Yeah, you did it, Janie!" cried a small boy. "You beat it!"

Janie turned and flashed a set of perfect teeth, scrubbed to pure whiteness by her mother. She held up two fingers in a flash pose, and laughed happily. Sammy stepped forwards, and the boy who had congratulated Janie saw her.

"Look, guys! It's Sammy!"

The children swarmed around her. She was the role model of them all, and they loved her because she was always nice to them, and willing to play games.

"Hello, everybody."

"Wow, Sammy! We all watched you on TV! You were awesome!" said Janie.

The boy held up a pokeball. "Can you show us some moves, Sammy?"

Sammy laughed. "I guess, Jimmy. But then we all have to go home, OK?"

All of the kids groaned. "Do we have too?" they all asked at once.

"Yes. It's not safe out here."

"We're fine!" said another girl. "We've got Janie and Jimmy to save us if we get in trouble! They have pokemon, we'll be OK."

"Can you show us those moves now?" complained Jimmy.

Sammy smiled, and held up a pokeball. "You need to learn some patience, Jimmy. Now, let me show you my newest friend."

She released Ruby from its ball, and watched as all the youngsters gasped and surrounded Ruby. Sammy waded in to save it.

"Don't crowd it. It's still really young."

Jimmy grinned, and held up his pokeball again. "If it's so young, then I'll bet I can beat it in a battle!"

Sammy thought about it. The Professor _had _said that he had trained Ruby a little, so it should have at least some battle experience. "Are you up to it, Ruby?"

Ruby bobbed up and down, obviously trying to emulate a nod.

"Then you've got yourself a battle, Jimmy."

"Awesome! Everybody stand back."

The other kids, including Janie, all backed up to the trees, as Sammy and her young opponent stood at either end of the clearing. Sammy was excited. Jimmy was the best out of all his friends.

"Go, Ghosty!"

Out of Jimmy's pokeball burst a Gastly. Sammy answered with Ruby.

"Let's start this off! Ruby, use...um..." Sammy suddenly realised that she didn't know what moves Ruby knew. Pulling her pokedex, Gigabyte, out of her pocket, she scanned Ruby, and checked he movie list.

"Huh? It only knows Take Down?" she muttered. "Oh well. Ruby, use Take Down, full power!"

Ruby shot forwards, but to Sammy's surprise, zoomed straight through Ghosty.

"Oh no, I forgot! Take Down is a Normal type move, and they don't affect Ghost types!" she gasped. _"But how can I win this if Ruby's only move doesn't work?" _Racking her brains, she couldn't think of anything.

"Ghosty, Lick!" ordered Jimmy.

Ghost hovered forwards, and poked out its tongue. Ruby was too slow to dodge the fast ghost, and it was hit directly in the face. The Beldum was stunned for a moment.

"Astonish!"

"GASTLY!"

Ghosty yelled its name loudly, catching Ruby by surprise. While it was flinching, Ghosty swooped forwards and slammed into the metal pokemon, who was knocked to the ground.

Jimmy's friends all cheered for Ghosty. Sammy grew very nervous. Could she possibly lose to such a young child?

"Nightshade!"

Ghosty grinned mischievously, and Ruby's single eye widened. A black aura surrounded it, and it began twitching. Sammy knew that Nightshade caused the victim to see illusions, sometimes causing it to hurt itself.

"Don't give in, Ruby! Fight through the pain!" called Sammy, and suddenly, something began to glow blue on her chest. She grabbed at the necklace around her neck, on the end of which hung to Knowledge Pendant. The blue crystal at the cross' core shined brightly, and suddenly, Ruby flashed white.

"What's happening to it?" gasped Janie, as Ruby grew, and white flames erupted off it. Slowly the light faded to reveal a much larger pokemon. It had a flat blue head, with two large steel arms on either side. Two red eyes blazed from the front of its main body, with a silver-grey horn for a nose.

"Ruby evolved!" gasped Sammy.

Jimmy's eyes widened. "Oh no!"

Sammy pulled Gigabyte back out of her pocket. Now a Metang, Ruby knew some new techniques.

"Hit it with Metal Claw!" she commanded, pointing dramatically at Ghosty. Ruby's arms turned as hard as steel, and it charged past the Gastly, clobbering it as it passed.

"And now, finish it off with Confusion!"

Metang concentrated, and a blue aura appeared around Ghosty's body, and it gasped. Finally, it fell to the ground.

"Yes, I win!" cheered Sammy, and the kids all ran forwards, jostling her and chanting her name. Jimmy was in awe; he returned Ghosty to its ball and stood right in front of Sammy with his mouth half open in reverence.

"You're really good," he said.

Sammy grinned. "You are too. If Ruby hadn't evolved, you would have beaten me!"

Jimmy broke into a wide smile. "Really? Wow!"

Together, the group picked their way through the trees, heading back to Huckleberry Town. About ten minutes from the edge of the forest, Sammy's pokegear rang. She pulled it out of her bag and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sammy, is that you?" asked a familiar voice.

"Erik?" Sammy pulled the phone away from her ear in surprise and looked at the screen, where it said "_Erik calling"_. Quickly, she placed her it back to her ear.

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I know you probably just got home, but it's an emergency. You need to come to Metrosan City straight away."

"Huh? Metrosan City? Why?"

"I can't explain now. Just get here quickly," answered Erik. "Please."

"OK, if you insist. You owe me."

Erik sighed. "Yes...I owe you."

"See ya there, then."

"Wait! How soon do you think you'll be able to arrive?"

"Maybe a few days. Dad's getting a helicopter there anyway, so I'll just go with him."

"Good. That's quicker than Jaden, it's gonna take him a few weeks, I think."

"Jaden?" gasped Sammy happily. "He's coming too?"

"Yeah. I have to go. See ya."

"Bye."

Sammy closed her pokegear.

"_Weird. Why does he need me to go to Metrosan so urgently? And why is Jaden going as well?_"

When she arrived back at the lab a few minutes later (after dropping the kids off), she opened the door and called to Professor Palm. The room was still as messy as before. It didn't seem like her Father had gotten any closer to finishing packing his stuff.

"HEY, DAD!" she screamed. A few seconds later, the professor opened the side door that led to his office and presented himself in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Is it alright if I come with you to Metrosan City tomorrow? Erik just called, and he said it was an emergency and that I had to get there as soon as possible."

Palm smiled widely. "Of course it's alright. Actually, I was going to ask you to come along for a holiday anyway. Just an idea."

"Alright. I'll go pack. Oh yeah, guess what? Ruby evolved already!"

Palm's eyes bugged straight out of his head. "_What?_ Wow, I guess I trained it more than I thought I did. Congratulations, Sammy."

Sammy grinned. "Thanks, Dad."

**000**

Hmm. For an anniversary chapter I didn't think I did so well...but it's not what I think, it's what you all think. You're the readers, after all. Don't forget to leave reviews, telling me what you thought!

And Ruby evolved! It seems that there's a lot of evolutions lately, isn't there?

And don't forget what I said last chapter! Me and Hotrod198 have written a collaboration fic called Yugimon: Legendary Crusaders, under the pen-name Animasterod2198. Don't forget to check it out if you like Yu-Gi-Oh and pokemon.

Next time, Jaden, Paul and Ryan are on the road to Metrosan. But as when they stop in at a small town for the night, they discover that all is not well with the locals. But what is terrorising the town? Wait and find out! It'll be a bigger than normal wait though, I've got other stories to write as well.

Happy Birthday to Aura Adventure!

See ya's!


	34. Flood Warning

Sorry guys, down here in Queensland, Australia...well, to put it simply...it's flooded. So, this means that I probably won't be able to update for a bit of a while, what with all the water and all that...I should be able to write again in a week, or maybe even a few days. Don't get your hopes too high though, if Wivenhoe Dam breaks then it'd be a few months at least...but the chances of that happening are practically nil, so don't worry, I won't get washed out...by the dam, at least. I still might get washed by the rain. See ya!


	35. Rewriting History

**Pokemon**

**Aura Adventure**

**ATTENTION!**

Hello, loyal fans. Let's get right to it.

I've been thinking for a while about putting Aura Adventure on hold. Do not be afraid, that is not what is happening! But, in a sense, it's more than that...

First of all, you might have noticed that I haven't updates AA for almost two months, which memory tells me is the longest period I've ever gone for AA (man, that makes me sound like an alcoholic or something). Usually, delays in updates are down to my own laziness, however, this time it's different. As some of you _may_ have noticed, I've been updating my Dragon Ball Z (Dragon Ball X) story rather regularly., and AA has been sinking into the background.

That is because I'm beginning to think that Aura Adventure is rather mundane, without any character development. None of the characters really have their own personalities, but are very Mary Sue-ish.

Therefore, after much debate inside my head, I have decided to end Aura Adventure...but do not fear! It's not done yet. Over the past year I have developed a very deep and detailed back-story for the plot, and each character has an important role. I do _not _want to give up on that so easily. In fact, it's the only thing that's kept me from ending it before this. Until I had an idea today that will allow me to continue the story while at the same time revamping it so it's way more interesting, for all of you and for me.

Here's the idea. I rewrite Aura Adventure. That's right. From the beginning. The rewrite will include a few major changes, such as:

1. Combining a few of the shorter chapters. While my average amount of words per chapter these days is about 3000, the first chapter I ever wrote was a mere _700 _words!

2. Giving the characters personalities...this one might seem obvious. No character is good without their own personal traits, and all of my characters (with the exception of the Team Epsilon members, who oddly have their own personalities, while none of the main characters do...) are rather bland and identical.

3. Lengthening some of the shorter chapters. Some of the shorter chapters will be combined, and others will be written longer, to add in more back-story and also effectively developing the characters.

4. The rest. The chapters will be more interesting, the characters will be more interesting, the battles will be more interesting...basically everything will be better.

Do not think that this will make the story completely different, most of it will be the same. Exactly the same plot for all of the chapters, exactly the same characters, the same OC's, the same pokemon, the same everything, except with personalities and better writing. I've learnt a lot in the past year since I began writing, and I'll try and use my new experience to the best of my abilities.

To the following authors - Crimson Dei, Confetti Storm, Hotrod198, KaizenUchiha, and Alternate Lopunnu – Incidentally, all of your OC's were set to appear sometime in the next five or so chapters. Unfortunately, as I am rewriting the story, these characters will not appear for quite a while, until I reach this point in the rewrite...Sorry about that. But don't worry. They're still all going to be heavily incorporated into the story when they do appear in the rewrite.

Well, I think that's all I need to announce...FYI, the original version will remain on my profile in case you ever want to reread it and compare them. The first chapter of the rewrite should be uploaded in about a week.

Well...I guess that's it. Thank you to all of you for reading my creation and supporting it. Farewell for now, but I'll be back, bigger and better. Stay on the lookout, Jaden and his friends will return soon.

Good-bye.


End file.
